Eighteen Years
by Tender Falling Rain
Summary: Obviously the cast of Ranma 1/2 have a lot of issues to work out, but you'd think 18 years would be enough time for them to get things straight, right? A story of paths followed and paths forgotten.
1. Ayame, Walking in Shadows

A/N: Okay, so as the title indicates this story takes place eighteen years after the end of the manga series. It's told primarily through the point of views of the cast's children, however, there's plenty of interaction between the original Ranma 1/2 characters. Yes, I realize this plot line of "Ranma, the next generation" has been done to death, but please just give this story a chance and I promise you'll like it. That's all. Enjoy! 

Chapter 1: Ayame - Walking in Shadows

* * * *

"Now remember, we do NOT know each other, okay?"

"Fine by me."

"And don't come running to me if you get into any trouble, you got it?"

"Like I would in the first place. Considering all the trouble you got into last year I wouldn't be so stupid."

Ichiro glared down at me from the top of the fence he was walking on. Everyone always says we fight just like my parents used to. I don't see why. My parents hardly ever fight. True, they have the occasional disagreement, and when my mom cooks something that is slightly less than tolerable my dad usually makes some kind of stupid comment and she hits him with a frying pan, but nothing serious. They're the perfect, stereotypical happy couple. Well, then again the pet names of 'pervert' and 'tomboy' aren't exactly typical, but you get the main idea. They're happy.

But that's not important right now. What is important is me, Ayame Saotome. Or rather, I'm the person we're talking about at the moment. Not that I'm particularly important or significant or anything. In fact, I'm quite the opposite.

Anyway, like I said, my name's Ayame Saotome. I was named after my grandmother on my mother's side, who died almost thirty years before I was ever born. I'm the only daughter of Ranma and Akane Saotome. I'm fifteen years old, and as of today a first year student at Furinkan High School, the same school my parents attended when they were younger. Though I would never admit it, especially to Ichiro, I'm not looking forward to starting high school. It's too bad Ichiro's such a jerk or I could actually confide to him my worries. After all, he's a second year student at Furinkan. It would be nice to have someone to show me around the campus and tell me who I should and should not associate with. Especially someone like Ichiro. Everyone knows who he is. He's easily the most popular guy in school. All the girls adore him, and all the boys want to be just like him. At seventeen, he's incredibly strong, well built, absolutely gorgeous, and easily one of the best martial artists in all of Japan, maybe even the world. So why do I hate him so much? I'm his younger sister. It's my job. 

But then we're off topic again. We _were_ talking about me and how I'm so apprehensive about my first day of school. After everything I've just said you might understand why. See, its tough being me. I'm the daughter of the infamous Ranma and Akane Saotome, as well as the younger sister of the beloved Ichiro Saotome. I'm not gorgeous like Ichiro or my parents. For the daughter of Ranma and Akane Saotome, I'm surprisingly plain. My shoulder length hair is dark, not ebony like my father's, just a typical felt black. It's not bluish black like my mother's and Ichiro's, nor is it red like my father's female half. And my eyes aren't the same stunning blue of my father's. Then again, neither are Ichiro's. However, at least he inherited the rich chocolate brown color of our mother. My eyes are a simple drab brown, almost black. Ichiro is more like our mother than our father. He has her eyes, her hair color, and a temper that sometimes even rivals her own. The only way you could recognize him as my father's son is by the signature pigtail he wears and the similar builds they possess. 

I, on the other hand, look more like a cross between my aunts, Kasumi and Nabiki. Not that either of them are particularly plain. They each possess their own type of stunning beauty. Kasumi has her feminine grace and Nabiki has her seductive allure. But take away those qualities and mix the two women together and you have me. Don't get me wrong, I'm above average in most aspects. Last year when I attended Hiroko Middle School, most of the girl's hated me because I got so much attention from the boys. After all, I was at the top of the class, I excelled at all sports, and I was cuter than most of the girls. So in comparison to everyone else, I'm above average. However, for a Saotome, I'm less than average.

Ever since I was young, my teachers would say, "Oh how adorable she is! I wonder who her parents are." And once they found out, their reaction was always the same. A surprised and confused, "Oh." I was no longer adorable in their eyes. Adorable was a word reserved for the gorgeous children of plain parents, not the plain children of gorgeous parents. It didn't help things that Ichiro was a year older than me. Everywhere I went his reputation preceded me. Last year when I was still in middle school and he was off in high school I had actually gotten accustomed to the attention being lavished upon me. I wasn't the little sister of Ichiro Saotome. I was simply Ayame Saotome, the smart, cute and athletic ninth grader of Hiroko Middle School. Unfortunately all that must change now.

I can see it already. As soon as the other girls find out that I'm Ichiro's younger sister, they'll all buddy up to me so that they can get closer to him. Until they learn that we're not that close. Then they'll all drift away, treating me as if I didn't exist. And if Ichiro expresses an intense dislike for me things could get ugly. After all, girls do have a tendency of trying to do away with things that bother those that they love. I can easily handle myself on a physical level, and I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to challenge me to a fighting match, but gossip is a whole other story. Meanwhile the boys will avoid me like the plague. Despite the fact that they all look up to my brother, they also are greatly afraid of him. Even though my brother probably couldn't care less who I date, the boys my age don't know that. For all they know he could be an extremely overprotective big brother type that plans to beat up any boy that so much as looks at me. However, I don't really mind so much if the boys steer clear of me. After all, I grew up on stories from my mother about how perverted boys could be, and I don't envy the trials she went through, fighting them every morning because they thought defeating her was the only way they could possibly win her heart. 

I guess I don't really mind that I won't be popular. I couldn't care less about such things. But it would be nice to at least have a friend or two. It wouldn't be so bad if my cousin Minami were here, but her stupid father had to insist on her going to that snotty St. Hebereke's School for Girls instead. Minami and I were practically inseparable back at Hiroko Middle School. She's not just my cousin, but my best friend. But now we're going to different schools. I don't know anyone anymore. I don't have a single friend. 

And then of course there are the teachers. Unfortunately my brother developed the reputation of a troublemaker last year. He goofed off or slept in class and easily became known as a bully. That's not to say he ever actually got into a fight with another student. Quite the contrary actually. Everyone knows that Ichiro's trained in martial arts his whole life. They've heard horror stories of the fights Ichiro's had in the past. The one's he always won. The stories of course aren't entirely true, but then no one knows that. Needless to say, with Ichiro's reputation it's not necessary for him to go around fighting other students. They're all so afraid of him that they'd pretty much do whatever he wanted without putting up a fight. And of course my wonderful brother uses this fact to his advantage. Thus the teacher's now view Ichiro as somewhat of a bully, and rightfully so.

Plus, although Ichiro has looks, and talent, an academic thinker he is not. I'm very proud of the fact that I did inherit one thing from my mother, and that is her brain. I am an excellent student. I'm smart, responsible, and I rarely get in trouble. However, thanks to my stupid brother the teachers will be keeping a close eye on me, punishing me for even the slightest infraction of the rules and grading me all the more harshly.

Needless to say, I'm not too optimistic about the outcome of my time here at Furinkan. At least I'll have gym to look forward to. I'm better than your average girl at sports. I'm fairly strong, fast and well coordinated. I've studied martial arts since I was old enough to walk. I could probably defeat any girl at the school in a fight and I doubt there are many boys that could beat me either. Of course Ichiro is in a whole different level. Even on my best day he could beat me without the slightest effort.

I honestly do love the art with all my heart and soul. Yet I know in the back of my mind that I will never be one of the great martial artists of our time. True, I possess a fair amount of talent, but the majority of my skill is based on the intense training I've had my whole life. I don't have as great of an aptitude for martial arts as my brother has.

My parents know I'm no martial arts prodigy child. They don't really seem to care though. After all, they have all they could possibly want in Ichiro and my younger brother Akito. Dad continues to train me anyway, mostly to keep me happy. But it's not necessary. I don't even think they'd care if I were to quit.

But I really love martial arts. And I would give absolutely anything to get better…

"Yo, Ayame!" Ichiro jumped off of the fence and landed gracefully in front of me. He waved his hand in front of my face trying to get my attention. "You there?"

"Yeah, Ichiro, what do you want?" I responded in an annoyed voice.

"Geez, what's your problem today?"

"You're my problem! Why'd I have to get such an egotistical, insensitive jerk for an older brother?"

He raised his eyebrow at me. "Wow! Where the hell'd that come from?" he asked. "Must be that time of the month or something," he finished under his breath.

I decided to ignore the last half of his comment and sighed. "Never mind Ichiro. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to tell you that we're almost at school now, so I'm going to go on ahead of you."

"Oh of course. Can't afford to have anyone seeing us together now can we?"

He gave me a sardonic smile and slapped me on the back. "I'm so glad we understand each other." With that said, he turned and ran at full speed towards the schoolyard. "Catch you later," he shouted back at me over his shoulder.

I watched him dash off towards the school building and frowned. "I still don't understand what people mean when they say Ichiro and I sound just like my parents did when they were younger. After all, my parents never argue."

* * * *

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Akane shouted as she vigorously began to chop up some defenseless vegetables. Ranma gulped as he saw the pieces of wood from the cutting board mixing in with the carrots. He had learned a long time ago not to get Akane aggravated when she was cooking. It only contributed to her… um… unique cooking style.

"But Akane…" he said trying to calm her down.

"No! No way!" she said waving the cutting knife around. "Have you gone completely nuts? There's no way I'm going to let you engage Ichiro to the daughter of that… that… man! And besides, an arranged marriage? Don't you remember how much trouble we went through with that?" Ranma flinched as she turned back to the… meal she was preparing, continuing her onslaught of the vegetables.

"But…"

"No buts! I said no!"

Ranma sighed. He and his wife rarely fought anymore unless it was about something crucial. Something crucial that they did not see eye to eye on. Their children's welfare was one such crucial topic. "Akane," he said as he walked up behind his annoyed wife and wrapped his arms around her. "You two used to be friends. What happened?" 

"What happened!?" As she began to talk he carefully extracted the knife from her hands and placed it on the counter. "You dare to ask? He betrayed my trust! He took advantage of me. And to think I took his side against yours numerous times because I thought he was a nice guy and you were always picking on him. He kept us from getting closer," she closed her eyes, sighing as she leaned back against her husband. Ranma took the opportunity to begin picking the pieces of wood out of the vegetables.

Ranma chuckled lightly. "Kind of ironic, isn't it? Here Ryoga and I used to hate each other and you were the one that was always trying to get us to be friends. Now you and Ryoga hate each other and I'm the one trying to get you to be friends."

She laughed slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Look, you know Ryoga's apologized for that whole P-chan incident. He only did it because he was madly in love with you. If anything, it's your fault for being too damn irresistible."

Akane rolled her eyes. The only time Ranma fed her lines like that was when he wanted something. "You didn't seem to think so," she sniffed.

"Yeah I did, I just didn't want to admit it." Akane smiled. Whether he wanted something or not, she still liked it when he flattered her. "So are you going to try and finally forgive Ryoga?"

She sighed. "It's not just about the P-chan thing…" she started.

"Then what is it?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it. It's nothing." She paused for a moment. "I can't promise you that I'll forgive him for… everything that happened, but I promise to be civil at dinner tonight."

"That's all I ask."

"But I still don't like this whole arranged marriage idea."

"Aw come on, it isn't that bad. After all, it worked out quite nicely for us in the long run didn't it?"

Akane smiled and turned around in his embrace. "Yeah," she said smiling up into his eyes. "I suppose it did." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. As the kiss elongated and turned into more than a simple peck, Akane's arms wrapped around her husband's neck, and Ranma's arms wrapped tightly around his wife's waist. Akane furrowed her brow and gently pulled back. Reaching behind her she grabbed his wrist where his fist had been balled up. She looked at him as he gulped and twisted his hand slightly causing it to open and allow many small pieces of wood to fall to the floor. She looked from the wood to the cutting board and sighed. Turning away from her husband she walked over to the cutting board and dumped the vegetables into the garbage. As an after thought she looked at the already boiling soup she had been making. After a moment of contemplation she took the pot and poured the contents into the trash as well. "I'd better start over again."

Completely forgetting her husband's presence she began the preparations for an entirely new meal. Ranma could still feel her kiss burning on his lips. He looked from left to right. It was quiet. It was still early. The kids wouldn't be home until the afternoon and he didn't have any classes for a few hours still. A silly grin spread across his face. He walked up behind Akane and wrapped his arms around her again, swaying back and forth as he whispered into her ear suggestively, "Hey Tomboy…"

Akane giggled. "Not now, you pervert, I have to start lunch all over now."

"Forget about lunch, we can just go out to eat."

"You know we can't afford that. Besides, Kasumi's coming over here later with the twins for lunch."

"But…"

"No buts. Now go away, you're going to make me ruin the soup again."

He sighed and ducked out of the kitchen only to return moments later as he realized they still hadn't settled their discussion. "Hey Akane, you still never agreed…"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" she shouted. 

Ranma scrambled out of the kitchen again. Yep, they were back to square one. 

* * * *

I stared down at my lunch and let out a soft groan. "Mom must've been in one of her creative moods again," I muttered while picking at the oddly shaped rice ball with the soy sauce markings. It vaguely resembled a cat. No, maybe it was a bunny rabbit. Or a dog? I sighed and closed my bento. Mom's cooking isn't that bad for the most part. She doesn't cook like Aunt Kasumi or Grandmother Nodoka, but she can make a decent meal that's actually pretty good. However, every once in a while she gets it into her head that she needs to make something… special. For a special occasion. Apparently my first day of school appeared to be one such occasion. See, the thing is, when my mom tries to make something special she gets a little carried away. The rice balls were probably okay, despite their odd shape. However, the lemon-vinegar cookies were a different story.

I stood up and made my way for the door, smiling as I looked down at the money in my hand. Dad had given me some change on the way out the door that morning. He didn't say much, just gave me an all knowing look and said in a solemn voice, "Just in case." I didn't understand what he meant at the time, but now…

I walked to the lunch stand, hoping there would still be something good left to buy. I waited in the line patiently… Well, I waited patiently for about five seconds. Then I looked at all the people in front of me and groaned. "Honestly, by the time I get to the head of the line lunch will be over! If there's even anything left by then." A smile crossed my lips as an idea came to my mind. "Oh my gosh!" I shouted in a girlish voice. It wasn't that hard to mimic, I am a girl after all. "I just saw Saotome-san back that way!" I jumped up and down in an excited manner pointing down the hall. All the girls, and a few guys to my chagrin, looked at me for a moment and then squealed in excitement, stampeding down the hall in the direction I had indicated.

I began to chuckle to myself as I made my way towards the front of the line. I was stopped by the sound of someone applauding. I spun around to stare up into a pair of aqua blue eyes. The girl before me had long chestnut brown hair tied part way in the back, complete with a small braid along the left side of her face. She wore a Furinkan High School uniform that fit her well proportioned body perfectly and an amused grin.

"I was beginning to think I'd have to fight my way to the front of the line. Your way however was a lot less complicated." She paused. "Not as fun though."

I smiled. She was definitely an… interesting person. "Yeah well, I figure if girls are going to be pathetic and get so worked up over a _guy_ they deserve to be cheated out of their lunches."

"I agree fully."

I looked her over more closely. Suddenly I realized I had seen her around campus earlier that day. She was a year ahead of me. All the guys in my class had seen her as well and had been whispering about how she was so… What was the word again? Oh yes. I shuddered. Gorgeous. I looked at her smiling face, her beautiful, shiny brown hair, those stunning blue eyes… Well, at least they were right. "Aren't you in Ichiro's class?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

She shuddered. "Yes, unfortunately," she groaned.

"Huh. Interesting. So why is it that you're not obsessed with him like all the other girls? You a lesbian or something?" I've never been one to beat around the bush. If I have an opinion or a question I tend to voice it without any hesitation. It's not one of my more endearing qualities, but it's who I am nonetheless.

The girl laughed lightly. She didn't appear to be the slightest bit offended by the boldness of my question. In fact, she seemed to find it refreshing. I liked that. "No, I'm perfectly straight." She shrugged. "In answer to your question about Ichiro-kun, let's just say I don't see what the big deal is. He's not that cute. Besides, between you and me I think it's the name that really makes him so attractive. After all, everyone knows about the infamous Saotomes." She rolled her eyes in emphasis. "Personally I don't think they're anything that spectacular. So they know some martial arts moves. It's probably all show and no force, you know what I mean? Take Ichiro for instance. He's supposed to be this great fighter and all, but has anyone ever actually _seen_ him fight anyone? Sure, there are plenty of stories and all, but as far as I know they're nothing more than rumors. If we've never seen him fight anyone, how can we be sure he can fight at all? As far as I'm concerned, Ichiro's all talk. Whole families probably the same way."

I frowned. "The Saotomes just believe you shouldn't bully the weak. That's the only reason that Ichiro and the rest of the Saotomes don't fight publicly that much. It's hard to find a worthy opponent. Besides, everyone here knows they wouldn't stand a chance against Ichiro."

"Whatever. Sorry, I thought we were on the same side here."

"In regards to Ichiro Saotome we are. Believe me, no one hates that jerk as much as I do."

She smiled. "Well good then. Nice to know not all the girls here are doomed to a pathetic existence of Saotome worship. By the way, I'm Karou Hibiki." She reached her hand out. 

I took it and gave her a coarse smile. "My name's Ayame. Ayame Saotome."

Her smile disappeared completely. "Oops."

* * * *

I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked over to my brother's class. By some unfortunate twist of fate his class had ended up having gym at the same time as my class. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but considering the fact that we were playing baseball and the other girls couldn't concentrate on the account that they were drooling over my brother, I was a tad frustrated.

Since no one else was actually paying attention to the game I allowed myself to look across the field to the male junior class. They were doing track practice, or more specifically the 100 yard dash. I watched two boys pair up and prepare to race down the track. A whistle was blown and they both dashed off down the strip as fast as their legs could carry them. I smiled with an approving glance. They were both pretty fast and finished with respectable times.

Suddenly there was a murmur through the crowd of boys and I watched as Ichiro made his way out of the crowd to take his place at the starting line. There was a sudden squeal from all the girls with me and the game of baseball was immediately forgotten. I sighed and settled to watch the promised race as well. Ichiro looked back towards the crowd, a smug look upon his face. "What?" I heard him shout. "No one wants to go up against me?"

The boys all chuckled. I frowned. Sure, Ichiro was faster than the other boys, but he didn't have to make such a big deal about it. Ichiro had a lot of strong points. Specifically his endurance, strength and ability to pick up almost any technique in no time. However, in comparison his speed was lacking. Of course he was quite a bit faster than me, but he was nowhere near my father's speed. Of all the techniques my dad had tried to teach Ichiro, the Kachu Tenshin Amagurinkan was the only one Ichiro had not been able to master. This was of course due to the fact that Ichiro, contrary to popular belief was not all that fast. 

Ichiro had always been incredibly frustrated and disappointed that he had never been able to master the Kachu Tenshin Amagurinkan. However, he never realized the reason why. Dad had worked at finding all kinds of techniques to improve Ichiro's speed, but Ichiro never progressed. I don't believe he even realizes that he's slower than he should be. After all he's so much faster than everyone he's ever come across. And Dad would never be able to tell him the truth. I'm still surprised Ichiro hasn't realized it himself.

I frowned as I thought of what Karou Hibiki had said about him earlier. That he was probably all talk. Considering the way he was showing off at something that he wasn't strong at just because he was better than everyone else only proved her to be right.

I was jolted out of my thoughts as a gasp was heard beside me followed by a girl pointing and saying, "Look!"

Sure enough, a boy, almost half a foot shorter than my brother was making his way to the starting line. He carried himself in a strange manner that I couldn't quite place. Still, his walk conveyed confidence, strange considering he was about to go up against Ichiro. The boy had long brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and wore gym clothes that appeared to be several sizes too large. When he reached the starting line he bent down and rolled up his pant legs a few times so he wouldn't trip over them. When he was done he stood up and took his position. Ichiro chuckled and shook his head taking his position as well. "You're going down Shorty," he said.

The boy only smirked while looking straight ahead, never saying a word.

The whistle sounded and the two were off in a flash. In only a few seconds it was over, and when it was, silence fell over the whole field as everyone stared at the winner in shock. Even Ichiro couldn't stop himself from gaping. Meanwhile the boy held the exact same confident smirk as before. 

It took only a few moments before Ichiro regained his wits. Unwilling to be out done he challenged the boy. "Heh, not bad Shorty. I guess I underestimated you. I didn't want to humiliate you so I didn't go all out. Care to try it again?"

The boy nodded once and they both made their way back to the starting line. The whistle sounded once again and they raced to the finish line, this time with the exact same result.

Ichiro growled. "Again!" he shouted.

I groaned and put my head in my hand not caring to watch as my stupid brother challenged the boy over and over again. "He's making a fool of himself!" I muttered. 

After several minutes Ichiro was breathing heavily. Meanwhile the boy had barely broken a sweat and was still wearing the same confident smirk he had started with. Ichiro glared at the boy. "Who the hell are you anyway?" he asked.

The boy's grin grew and he pulled the ponytail holder out of his hair, allowing long tresses of chestnut brown to cascade down his back. Next off came his sweatshirt revealing a very well proportioned female body in a girl's gym uniform underneath. "Aww," the girl pouted. "Don't tell me you don't recognize me Ichiro-chan," she said with a coy smile on her beautiful lips. 

"Karou Hibiki," he murmured in an astonished voice.

"Bingo!" Her triumphant look could not be mistaken. Ichiro did what all the other boys did. He simply stared and gaped at the beautiful girl before him. The beautiful girl that had just defeated him at a track match.

I smiled as well. "Oh this is good." Finally someone had put Ichiro in his place. I suddenly had a newfound respect for the Hibiki girl.

* * * *

I skipped into the house humming and slipped my shoes off my feet, replacing them with a pair of slippers. "I'm home!" I called.

Mom met me in the entryway with a wide grin. "Hey Honey. How was school?"

"School was terrific," I grinned.

"Oh really?" She smiled wider at my announcement, relief flooding her face. "I'm so glad! And how was your lunch?" 

"Oh. I loved it! The kangaroo shaped rice balls were adorable."

Her smile turned upside down. "They were dolphins."

"Oh… Right… I was just kidding you Mom."

I quickly dashed past her and into the tea room. As I entered the room and plopped down at the table I noticed my father already there sipping a cup of tea and reading over a letter. "Hey Daddy," I said kissing him on the cheek.

"Hey Ayame. School was good?"

"Uh huh!" I said as I poured myself a cup of tea.

"What was so great about your day, Honey?" Mom asked as she entered the room behind me. 

"Oh not much," I said as I took a sip of the tea. "Just Ichiro getting beaten at a track race by a girl."

My dad's tea cup slammed down onto the table and he turned his full attention to me, a look of horror on his face.

"H-He let her win, right? Because she was a girl, right?"

"Nope. He didn't know she was a girl until after the match."

"Then it must've been a fluke," My mom said as she shakily made her way to sit at the table with us.

"That's what I thought at first." Another sip of my tea. "But after the first five matches I changed my mind."

"He raced her five times and still never won?"

"Nope. Fifteen times. It just started to get obvious the girl was better by the fifth race. Well, at least to everyone but Ichiro."

"S-So he didn't lose on purpose, and it wasn't a fluke?" My dad asked glancing at my mom nervously.

"Nope."

My mom and dad shared a meaningful long glance. "This is not good." My mom finally said.

My dad shook his head. "Ichiro's going to be…"

He trailed off as we all heard the front door slam and they both winced.

"DDAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yelled an angry voice from the entryway. 

My two parents immediately jumped to their feet and rushed to meet their irate son. Meanwhile I merely smiled. It had turned out to be a pretty good day after all. And it was all thanks to one, Karou Hibiki. "Yep, things can't get any better than this," I thought.

I was wrong.

* * * *

Author Notes: 

**Apologies** - Yes, I realize the "Ranma cast has children" storyline has been done before. However, considering the vast number of Ranma 1/2 stories out there, it's hard to come up with something original every time. I'm sorry that this isn't anything new, but before you pass up this story completely, give it a chance. I think there's just enough twists in here to make it worth your while.

**Character Issues** - Would Ranma _really_ try and arrange the marriage of his son after all he went through with his father? I'm not really sure. Personally I think you could argue it either way. See, obviously in the manga and anime we see Ranma protesting the engagement a lot, but at the same time there are rare occasions where he seems willing to go along with it, and I don't believe this is just because he's secretly in love with Akane. Ranma believes a great deal in honor. As it is I've seen quite a few stories where Ranma marries Akane just because it's the honorable thing to do. Basically all I'm saying is I don't think it's _that_ unlikely that Ranma would want to arrange the marriage of one of his children. 

**Conclusion** - Anyway, thanks for reading my story. Please review and let me know what you think! Ja ne!

**Coming Soon **- Chapter 2: Ayame - A Reason to Hate. Originally chapter one and two were just one chapter, but it got way too long so I decided to break it up. However, now the good news is that chapter two is almost complete! So look forward to that in the next few days.


	2. Ayame, A Reason to Hate

Chapter 2: Ayame - A Reason to Hate

* * * *

After Ichiro got home, I sat around in the tea room for a while and listened as he related the whole story of the track match to our parents. One thing you have to understand, Ichiro's fragile little ego would never let him take the blame for anything. That's why in Ichiro's mind it wasn't _his_ fault that Karou had beaten him in the track match. No, instead it was my dad's fault because he hadn't trained him better. Ichiro even threw in a pretty good argument for why it was my mom's fault because she had passed on her 'slow genes' to him. Yeah, Ichiro wasn't exactly thinking clearly because that was definitely not the right thing to do. Mom flattened Ichiro with her mallet that I actually hadn't seen in a good six months and yelled something about not being slow. Then with a 'hmph' she left the room. 

My dad toed the broken pile that was my brother for a little while until Ichiro groaned and got up. Since he'd finally calmed down, my dad and him went about re-evaluating his training procedures. After they'd discussed a new course of action for a few minutes they went off and spent the rest of the afternoon training. I sighed. "Guess that means Dad's not going to teach me that new kata today…"

Once they had disappeared I retreated to my bedroom. I stripped off my uniform and changed into a pair of boxer styled shorts and a sports bra. I then plopped down on my bed and began to leaf through my English textbook. Since it was the first day of school, there was no homework, but I figured I might as well preview the upcoming lessons so I could be prepared.

After about a half hour my mom's voice could be heard calling for me. "Phone call," she yelled up the stairs. I jumped off my bed and quickly made my way down the stairs and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ayame-chan!" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Minami-chan!" I responded. "What's up?"

She sniffed in a dramatic voice on the other end of the line. "I missed you _so _much today!"

"I know! I missed you too! How's St. Hebereke's anyway?"

"It's awful! You have no idea. There's absolutely no guys whatsoever!"

I chuckled lightly. Minami had always been a tad boy crazy. "Well duh, silly. That's why it's an all girl's school."

"Oh don't tease me. You know what I mean. But besides that, the teachers are super strict, the girls are all way stuck up and the worst part of all is that Father's insisting on me joining the Rhythmic Gymnastics team!"

"Rhythmic Gymnastics? Ick! Why in the world would he want you to do that?"

She sighed. "I don't know. My guess is it has something to do with his sister."

"Oh." We both grew silent at that. 

"You know, he called me Kodachi again today. I don't know what's with him lately. It's getting worse."

"Maybe it's because of the uniform and everything. You do bear a striking resemblance to her you know. At least what I've seen of her pictures."

"Agh. Please don't say that!"

"Why not? I mean sure, Kodachi was a little on the loony side…"

"A little? She mailed herself in a huge box to your father while he was on his honey moon with your mom!"

I tried to suppress my giggles. After all, it wasn't very nice to mock the dead. "Okay, so she was a nutcase. But putting that aside, she was still a very pretty girl."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Sometimes it's just kind of hard to see considering she was completely insane." She paused then. "Ayame, you don't think I'm…"

"What, crazy?"

"Yeah…"

"Of course! Crazy over boys," I giggled.

"Ayame! Come on, you know what I mean. I'm being serious here."

"Well so am I," I continued giggling. "You're the most boy crazed girl I've ever met. Personally I think going to an all girl school's going to do you some good. But besides the whole boy crazy thing, you're perfectly sane."

"Thanks Ayame. I needed to hear that."

"Anytime."

"So tell me, how was your day then? Hopefully it was as bad as mine."

I gulped slightly. "Um… Actually it wasn't so bad."

"It wasn't?"

"No. I mean sure I missed you horribly but otherwise it was actually kind of a… good day."

"I knew it! You met some gorgeous guy and fell in love and now you're going to spend all your free time with him and never have any time for me at all!"

"Oh please Minami. Even if I did meet a guy I'd still have plenty of time for you. After all, you're my best friend."

"Oh. So, no guy then?" She actually sounded disappointed. "What kind of a good day is that?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, Minami, no guy. After all, I'm not like you remember. I don't hold the opinion that the whole world revolves around boys!"

"Okay, okay. But tell me now. What was so good about your day then?"

I grinned. "Well, the classes seem to be really tough and most of the students seem to be obsessed with Ichiro just like we thought they'd be…"

"Of course," she interjected.

"_But_, there is this one girl I met that doesn't seem to be head over heals in love with him." 

She gasped in a scandalized manner. "Oh, do tell!"

"Her name's Karou Hibiki. She's a little taller than me, has blue eyes, long brown hair, really pretty type. Anyway, she said something about Ichiro and the rest of the Saotomes being all talk."

"Did you beat her up?"

"Nah, I was too stunned at the time that I'd actually found someone who didn't seem to like Ichiro. Besides, she's only met my stupid brother. She doesn't know what the rest of us Saotomes are like. Ichiro's just given her a bad opinion of us. Besides, after what she did later I felt kind of obligated to forgive her."

"Oh really? Wow, she must've done something really good then!"

I grinned. "Oh did she ever."

"Tell me! Tell me!"

"Okay." I proceeded to tell her all about the track match between Ichiro and the Hibiki girl and the subsequent tantrum that Ichiro threw upon his arrival at home.

"Oh my gosh," she squeaked out in between a fit of laughter. "That's priceless! Ichiro must be going nuts!"

"Oh he is. Dad's giving him some speed training again. Remember, the training procedure with the little kids, the bricks and the water?"

"Oh wow, that one again. At least he's not doing the stuff with the piranhas anymore."

"Yeah, I think Dad's finally starting to accept the fact that Ichiro's simply never going to be as fast as him. The Kachu Tenshin Amagurinkan's a totally unrealistic goal for Ichiro. However, being able to run across the water before falling in is pretty implausible as well. Ichiro seemed really determined this time though. Getting beaten by a girl really stung his pride."

"I bet. So this Hibiki's girl's really fast then, huh?"

"Extremely. She beat him without even breaking a sweat. And fifteen times even! I have the sneaking suspicion she was holding back too."

"Wow. That is good. What else do you know about her?"

"Not much really."

"You want me to dig up the 411 on her?"

"Would you really? That'd be great. I'm really curious about her."

"Sure thing girl. It's going to cost you though."

"You're kidding right?"

She giggled. "Of course!"

"Man, you had me going there. I was starting to think you'd turned into your mother!"

"Nope. Not yet at least. Anyway, I should get going. Mom's actually coming home tonight so I thought I'd make us all a nice dinner. I'll call you later tonight and let you know about this Karou girl, okay?"

"Sounds great. Later Minami."

"Bye!"

I hung up the phone with a sigh and turned to see my mom as she entered the room. "What did Minami-chan want?"

"Oh nothing really. Just wanted to tell me about her day and all."

"Oh, that's nice. How's she liking St. Hebereke's?"

"Not so well. Hey Mom? You know anything about Rhythmic Gymnastics?"

My mom shuddered and then frowned. "Yes, unfortunately. Don't tell me her Dad's forcing her to take up that stupid sport?" I nodded. "Honestly, that man… I can't believe Nabiki actually agreed to the idea of Minami taking up Rhythmic Gymnastics."

"Nabiki's been uh, kind of busy lately." I paused. "Hey Mom? Did Kodachi do Rhythmic…"

Mom cut me off with a nod. "Yes. She was obsessed. Didn't we ever tell you about the time when your dad competed against her?"

I giggled at the thought of my dad in a leotard. "No!"

She sighed. "Well, it was a long time ago when your dad first came to live here…"

She trailed off as the front door bolted open and a red and black blur rushed through it. As the blur streaked past us, Mom reached out and casually caught it by the collar. "Akito, what have I told you about running in the house?"

"Um," said the twelve year old whose progress towards the stairs had been brought to an abrupt halt. "Do it quietly?" Akito was every bit his father's son. He sported the same jet black hair and baby blue eyes of our father. Akito also displayed the same aptitude for martial arts. Ever since he was a baby, he had soaked up any kind of training he could receive, mastering any technique in the blink of an eye. He had yet to reach Ichiro's level, but we all knew it was only a matter of time before he caught up to his older brother and even surpassed him. I wouldn't even be surprised if one day he surpassed our father. But that was still a ways away. In the meantime, Akito made up for his inferior skill by imitating our father in every way. He wore nothing but black sweatpants and Chinese shirts, just like our father. Just recently he started growing his hair out so that he could wear it in a pigtail. Still, even without the pigtail, he was beginning to look more and more like his father every day.

Mom sighed in exasperation at the hyper child. "No, I did not say, 'run quietly in the house.' I said don't do it at all. Remember what happened last week?"

"That was Ichiro's fault! I wouldn't have crashed into him but he panicked when he saw me coming and tried to get out of the way, only to get in my way," the little boy murmured in annoyance.

"That's no excuse. If you hadn't been running it wouldn't have happened in the first place, right?"

Akito sighed. "I suppose so."

"Good. Now, we have company coming over later so hurry upstairs and get your homework done, alright?" she said letting go of his collar. "But don't run!" she added quickly before he had the chance to do just that.

"Yes Mother," he called as he made his way up the stairs.

"Honestly, that boy. He gets more and more like your father every day," she murmured, her thoughts obviously mirroring my own. A ghost of a smile passed her lips.

"Hey Mom, what did you mean about company coming over?"

"Oh yes. I forgot to mention. We're having some old… _friends_ for dinner tonight." Her strange emphasis of the word 'friends' did not go unnoticed.

"You don't sound too thrilled about the idea," I started.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, dismissing the topic. "Don't worry about it. But you might want to go fix yourself up a bit. Change into one of your nice dresses. They'll be here in about an hour."

"Kay," I said as I turned and followed my little brother's path up the stairs. "Company, hmm. This could be interesting," I muttered to myself. Interesting was an understatement. 

* * * *

About an hour later I was dressed and making my way down the stairs when the phone began to ring. "I'll get it!" I called as I reached for the phone. "Hello, Saotome residence, this is Ayame speaking."

"Hey Ayame. This is Minami again."

"Oh hey. What's up?"

"Well, I got that information for you like you asked."

"Wow! Already? How's that possible? I thought you were going to have dinner with your parents."

"Oh… Yeah, well my mom couldn't make it home so…"

"Oh, I'm sorry Minami."

"It's no big deal," she said trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. "I know how busy she is and all. We can all have dinner another time."

"Of course," I said in a sincere voice.

"Anyway," she said quickly changing the subject. "About this Karou girl…"

There was a knock at the door and I found myself suddenly distracted. My mom rushed into the room and quickly made her way over to the door to let the guests in. I watched as she nodded rather curtly and gave a stiff hello before allowing the two people inside. When I saw our guests I gasped and almost dropped the phone.

"Ayame? Hello? What's up, you still there?"

"Um, Minami," I stumbled. "I think I'm going to have to call you back…"

"Why? I thought you wanted to know about Karou Hibiki."

"Yeah, about that…" I turned my back to the two people that had just entered the room and whispered into the phone. "She just walked in the door…"

* * * *

"It's been a long time, Ryoga," My mom said mechanically. 

He laughed nervously and muttered a brief, "Um yeah, I guess it has."

Mom then turned her attention away from the tall man and over to the shorter girl standing beside him. "And this must be your daughter," she said with a genuine smile that was only slightly strained.

"Hi," the girl said. I could tell from where I was standing that she was slightly nervous. Gone were any traces of the cocky confidence she had displayed earlier that day. "I'm Karou Hibiki. Pleased to meet you."

"So I guess you found the place alright?"

"Well uh, Karou's a good guide. She's got an excellent sense of direction." My mother nodded in understanding.

As I began to walk over their attention shifted to me. "Oh," my mother said with a proud smile on her face. "And this is our daughter, Ayame. Ayame, this is Ryoga Hibiki," she said gesturing to the tall man. "He's an old friend of your _father's_," she said, emphasizing the last word in a strange manner. Mr. Hibiki winced slightly but didn't say anything. I bowed politely to the nervous looking man and then focused my attention to the girl beside him. "And this is his daughter Karou," my mom finished.

"Actually," Karou stuttered in that same nervous manner, "We've already…"

"Pleased to meet you, Karou," I said, smiling brightly and bowing.

She blinked. "Um, yeah. Pleased to meet you too." The look she gave me was one of confusion and gratitude.

"Well, now," my mom interjected. "Let's not just stand here. Please come in," she said as she gestured them towards the tea room. She paused briefly and shouted in a pleasant manner up the stairs. "Akito! Company's here!" We heard a rushed shuffling coming from above. "And don't run!" She called out again. With that said we all made our way into the tea room. 

"I'm sure Ranma and Ichiro will be home any minute now," she said as we all settled down at the table. "He and Ichiro went out a little while ago…"

"Yeah, they're probably at the channel training again," I interrupted. Mom gave me a silencing look but I ignored her and turned my attention towards Karou. "Ichiro's really upset you see. He got beaten by a girl today."

A small smile passed across her face and I could see her confidence returning.

"Ayame!" My mom scolded lightly.

"Oh don't worry about it Mom. Karou probably already knows about it anyway. It's all over the school. You do go to Furinkan don't you?" I asked Karou.

"Yes…"

"See! She knows all about it. Trust me."

"But still, Ayame, you shouldn't go…" Her lecture was interrupted as Akito entered the room. "Oh, Akito, there you are. Ryoga, Karou, this is our youngest son. Akito, this is Ryoga Hibiki and his daughter Karou."

Akito plopped down directly across from Karou and stared at her intently. "You're hot!" He said in a matter of fact way.

"Akito!" My mom said in a disapproving tone. "That's no way to talk to a young woman you've just met."

Karou only giggled. "It's alright Mrs. Saotome. After all, it's not every day I get complimented by such a handsome young man." 

I raised my eyebrow at her. Somehow I found that hard to believe. "Um, anyway, Karou, would you like to see our dojo?" I asked, as I stood up.

Karou smiled up at me. "Sure," she said as she made her way to her feet as well.

"What!? I um, I mean are you sure that's such a good idea?" It was Mr. Hibiki that had posed the question. Actually, it was the most I had heard from him since he'd arrived. I looked at the strange man curiously, trying to figure out why he seemed so terrified.

Mom simply sighed in annoyance. "It's fine, Ryoga. They're just going to go look at the dojo. It's not like they can really fight in those nice dresses or anything. Besides, dinner's not quite ready yet and Ranma and Ichiro still aren't home."

"Oh, um, I'll go with them then…" he said, sounding desperate.

"What for, Ryoga?" My mom said in an exasperated tone. "You've seen the dojo hundreds of times! Besides, someone needs to stay here and keep Akito company while I go finish making dinner." She stood up as well. "Be good, girls. I'll call you when dinner's ready." It wasn't until she left the room that Mr. Hibiki really seemed to relax. He then turned to focus his attention on my younger brother who was staring at the older man intently.

"Why do you have fangs?" The curious twelve year old asked.

I never heard Mr. Hibiki's response, as Karou and I chose that moment to leave the room. "What was that all about?" I asked as I began to lead her towards the dojo.

"What do you mean?"

"Your father. Does he always act that fidgety?"

"No. Not really. Just when he's nervous about something." She shrugged. "If you're wondering what it is he's nervous about, it beats me!"

I laughed slightly. "Oh and by the way, for future reference, you should be a little more cautious around my brother."

"E-Excuse me?" she asked in a puzzled manner.

"Akito. Once he makes up his mind that he likes a girl he tends to be a little obsessive."

"Oh," she said in sudden understanding. "Akito!"

"Yeah Akito, who did you think I was talking about?"

"Oh no one."

I turned and gave her an all knowing smile as we reached the door of the dojo. "Don't worry. Ichiro would never try to hit a girl, regardless of how much he hates her." I opened the door to the dojo for her.

"Tsk. What a shame," she said, giving me a light smirk as she entered the dojo. "Might have been an interesting match."

I entered the dojo as well but remained near the door and watched her closely as she slowly made her way around the room, inspecting the walls and the floor. 

"I wanted to apologize for earlier," she said, her back facing me.

"What, for beating Ichiro shamelessly?" 

She laughed. "What are you kidding? I'd never apologize for that."

"Good," I said with a light smile.

"I meant about lunch. I shouldn't have gone and made assumptions about your whole family just because I don't like your brother."

"Ah, don't worry about it. As far as I'm concerned we met for the first time in the hall a few minutes ago. Besides, even if I hadn't forgiven you, it would be hard to stay mad after that stunt you pulled on Ichiro in gym class."

She turned to face me and smiled. "There's really no love loss between you two, is there?"

I shrugged. "No, not really. I don't know, we have the typical sibling problems. You have any brothers or sisters?"

Her smile disappeared and she stiffened slightly. "I have a younger half brother and sister that live just outside of town. They're twins."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize your parents had split up."

"They haven't," she said in a cold voice. "At least not yet."

I gulped slightly feeling the uneasiness that surrounded us. Fortunately Akito came bounding in at that moment to break the tension.

"Mom says dinner's ready," he announced. "Oh, and Dad and Ichiro just got home a minute ago." He turned to Karou then. "I saved you a seat right next to me," he said with a smile before bounding out of the dojo.

Once he was gone I began to giggle. "Oh he's totally into you. You'd better look out." She gave me a brief smile but didn't say anything. "Hey, what's the matter?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just a little nervous I guess."

"What about seeing Ichiro? I find that a little hard to believe. This afternoon you were the epitome of confidence. What happened?"

"Well, that was at school. I was in my own territory. Here I'm a guest, and I'm supposed to be polite. I just don't think your parents will take too well to the girl that humiliated their son in front of the whole school. And I don't know. I kind of want them to like me. After all, they are my parent's friends and all."

"Look, Karou. My parents may be proud of Ichiro and love him and all that sentimental garbage, but they're not blind. They know Ichiro's stuck up, self centered and frankly a bit of a jerk." She laughed at that. "In all honesty, you beating him today did him a world of good. It put him in his place. Made him realize that you really have to work hard to be the best. He's been slacking off too much recently. I guess all I'm saying is give my parents a little more credit."

"Okay. I'll try." She turned to leave but I stopped her.

"Oh and Karou?"

"Hmm?" she asked turning back to me.

"It's… not just that you resent him right? You have another reason for disliking him, don't you? A good one I mean?"

She nodded her head sincerely. "Yeah. I do. A really good reason."

I nodded as well. "Okay then. That's good enough for me."

* * * *

"Ryoga!" Ranma shouted as he entered the room. "Long time no see, Buddy! Sorry we're a little late," he said more to his wife, who was not looking too pleased with him, than to his old friend.

"Uh, no problem," Ryoga said in a slightly nervous voice. He was glad Ranma had finally returned. The young Saotome boy had been asking him all kinds of weird questions, and the tension between him and Akane and the forced kindness she was giving him was really putting him on edge. "Good to see you."

"Oh yeah, by the way, Ryoga. This is my oldest son, Ichiro," Ranma said while gesturing to the boy standing next to him. "Ichiro, I'd like you to meet my old friend, Ryoga Hibiki."

"Hey," Ichiro said in a simple manner, feeling bored by the current circumstances.

"And I assume you've already met Akito and Ayame." Ryoga nodded in acknowledgement. "So um, where's your daughter then?"

"Ayame's showing her the dojo," said Akane. "Akito, why don't you go tell them to join us?"

"Sure Mom," Akito said while jumping to his feet.

"And don't run!" Akane said sternly. Akito sighed and trudged out of the room. Akane turned to Ichiro. "Ichiro, would you be so kind as to go check on dinner?"

Ichiro gave her a funny look. "Huh? But I don't know anything about cooking, and I..."

"Don't argue with your mother," Akane said in a saccharine sweet tone. "Just go check on the meal, hmm?"

"Umm... Sure..." Ichiro said in a confused voice as he got to his feet and left the room. Akane followed him with her eyes and as soon as he was gone turned back to the two men still seated at the table.

"Okay now let's get to the point," she said in a low, rapid voice. "Ranma informed me this morning of the moronic plan the two of you came up with to engage our children," she said to Ryoga. Ryoga started to talk but she cut him off. "No! I'm not through yet. Ichiro is my son, and I have just as much say in his welfare as his father does. And I am not about to force him into something against his will. So I want the both of you to forget all about this stupid idea, you understand?" The two men nodded looking defeated. "Now, there will be no arranged marriage, and that is final. I want my children to marry for love, not for honor."

Ranma's eyes brightened and a smile crossed his face. "So then what if they fell in love?"

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.

"If Ichiro and Karou were to fall in love, would it be okay with you for them to get married?"

Akane paused as she desperately tried to think of some kind of argument for Ranma's rational proposition. Just as she was about to say something Akito re-entered the room, followed by the two girls that were chatting happily. As soon as the three had sat down at the table, Ichiro walked back into the room scratching his head in confusion.

"Hey Mom? I'm not sure but I think that dinner may be..." he trailed off and let his mouth gape as he noticed Karou sitting at the tea table. "What the hell is she doing here?" he shouted pointing at the girl in question.

"Nice to see you too, Ichiro-chan," Karou said in an annoyed tone while crossing her arms across her chest. "Come now, is that any way to speak to a guest?"

"A guest? You can't be serious? Don't tell me that you're Mr. Hibiki's..." he stuttered while indicating Ryoga.

"Well no duh Ichiro. After all, how many people do you think have the last name Hibiki? I know you're a little slow, but I think even you would've figured that one out." 

Ichiro turned an angry shade of red and glared sharply at Karou. "Why you…"

Ranma and Ryoga merely gaped in horror at the bickering couple. Meanwhile Akane smiled a satisfied grin and patted her husband on the back. "Sure Honey. It's okay with me if they get married," she said in a quiet voice so no one else could hear. "_If _they fall in love..." Ranma merely whimpered in response.

* * * *

Eventually the bickering between my big brother and our guest Karou came to a conclusion and we all settled down for dinner. However, this didn't stop them from casting each other glares from across the table. Or rather, Ichiro was glaring at Karou while Karou was doing a rather impressive job of ignoring him, which only served to irritate him further. Meanwhile, Akito was giving Karou looks of an entirely different kind, and Mr. Hibiki kept jumping every time my mom spoke to him. I have no clue why. Although it might have had something to do with the fact that my mom didn't seem to like him that much. She hadn't said anything rude to him to indicate that fact, but it seemed as if she was trying too hard to be nice. As if the whole thing was an act, which in all actuality it probably was. Personally I couldn't have cared less what the deal was between them. I was too busy enjoying the fact that someone was doing such a good job at ruffling my brother's feathers. Ichiro was the type of guy that simply strutted through life without a care in the world. He was always in control, always calm and collected. I hated that about him. It was just so... annoying! So needless to say I was thrilled to find there was someone in this world that could actually bother him as much as he bothered me.

My dad was doing his best to appease the awkward mood that had fallen on the room, but unfortunately was not too successful. "So, um, I guess you two must be in the same class then, huh?"

"Ha. Unfortunately..." Ichiro muttered under his breath.

Karou continued to ignore him and merely looked up from her meal, and smiled at my father. "That's right, Mr. Saotome," she said in a cutesy voice that even made me want to puke. "I transferred into his class in the middle of last year when we moved to Nerima."

"Oh. So how do you like Nerima then?"

"I can't really say. The curriculum at Furinkan was a little different than at my old school so I had to work really hard to catch up to the rest of the class. Plus I help out in the restaurant, so I don't really have much of an opportunity to go out."

"Well, what about this summer?"

"I wasn't around for most of the summer. My dad and I went to China."

Ichiro, who had been pretending not to listen, perked up at that. "Huh? I thought you were going to go to America," he said confusing the rest of us. 

_ 'How would Ichiro know she was planning on going to America?'_ I wondered.

Karou looked at him, a little surprised at his comment as well. However, she seemed to know what he was talking about. "Um, no. Unfortunately that didn't work out..." she said, going back to her meal.

"Well then what did you go to China for?" he asked.

"We went on a training trip," Mr. Hibiki said matter of factly.

"Huh? A training trip?" Ichiro asked, confused. 

"Yeah," Mr. Hibiki said in a proud tone. "Karou learns so fast that both her mother and I ran out of things to teach her. So we went on a trip to China this summer so she could learn some new techniques." 

Ichiro turned his gaze to Karou. "You practice martial arts?"

Karou sighed. "Um yeah."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"It never came up."

"How can that not come up?"

Karou shrugged. "I don't know..."

The rest of us merely watched their exchange in confusion until my dad was stupid enough to interrupt.

"Now there you go," My dad said in an encouraging manner. "See, you two probably have a lot in common," he commented while casting Mr. Hibiki a conspiring look.

"Yeah," Mr. Hibiki agreed with a slight smile.

"Hey Ichiro, I have an idea," Dad continued. "Since Karou doesn't really know her way around Nerima, why don't you take her out some time?"

"That's a great idea!" Mr. Hibiki added.

Ichiro began to choke on his food. "What are you crazy?" he shouted. "Me? Take out that annoying know it all? Believe me, outside of martial arts we have absolutely nothing in common. Right Karou?"

Karou sipped her miso soup casually. "I'd agree, but then we'd have another thing in common." Ichiro glared at her for what must have been the thousandth time that night.

"Okay, whatever. But that doesn't change the fact that I'd rather run myself through with a rusty katana than take out that boring, geeky, backstabbing wench!" Karou looked up, shocked at his words but didn't say anything.

_ 'Backstabbing?'_ I silently wondered. _ 'Where did that come from?'_

"Ichiro!" My mom shouted. "That is no way to talk to a girl. Especially one of our guests! Besides, Karou's been perfectly polite to you since she got here, and all you've done is insult her! I want you to apologize right this instance."

"Yeah, better yet, apologize by taking her out to dinner," my dad interjected again. He never did learn when to keep quiet.

"And you!" my mom said as she turned on my dad. "I told you already that I didn't want to force them into anything. That includes dating."

"But you said that if they..."

"No buts, Ranma. Obviously they don't get along, why are you trying to force this?"

"Because! They should at least try and get to know each other!"

"I'll go," said a small voice. We all turned to the source of it: Karou.

"What?" the whole room chorused.

"I said I'll go. After all, it's been a while since I've gone out. I'm usually so busy. It would be a nice change. Besides, since Dad and the Saotomes are such good friends, Ichiro and I should at least try to get along as well."

"What's with the sweet and innocent act all of a sudden?" Ichiro asked in a quiet voice. Karou and I were the only one's that heard his comment. I liked Karou and all, but I kind of had to wonder about Ichiro's question as well. The girl I had met was outspoken, confident and slightly cocky. The girl that was sitting at our table though, was shy, timid and submissive. I was utterly confused by the two contrasting personalities.

"Now see that?" Ranma said. "Ichiro, why can't you be more like that? Karou's perfectly willing to give it a try, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Ichiro looked positively irate. "Because, I can't stand that girl!"

"It's okay," Karou said in a saddened voice. "If Ichiro doesn't want to go out with me then I... I..." she looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

Okay, now I was sure something weird was up. Karou did not seem like the type of girl to cry over something as stupid as that. Even Mr. Hibiki looked a little confused by her behavior. None of us said anything though. However, my dad was outraged. "Ichiro! Now look what you've done! You've hurt her feelings!"

"What? Hurt her feelings? She couldn't care less what I say. Believe me, she hates me just as much as I hate her!"

"That's enough. Ichiro, you will take Karou out this Saturday and the two of you will have a good time, or else no allowance for a month."

Ichiro's mouth dropped wide open. "B-But that's not fair!"

"Ranma," my mom started. "What'd we agree about not forcing him into anything?"

Dad was about to respond but Ichiro spoke up instead. "Fine. I'll take her out. But just once! And I will not enjoy it. You satisfied?" He then resumed his eating.

"Yes, very," my dad said as he also resumed eating.

"Manipulative shrew," Ichiro muttered, casting another glare at Karou.

Karou looked at me out of the corner of her eye and winked. I smiled. _ "I knew she was up to something..."_

Silence prevailed around the room once more until my dad made another attempt at a conversation. "So, um Ryoga. Where's Ukyo? I thought she'd come tonight."

Both Mr. Hibiki and Karou stiffened. "She's, uh, away traveling," he answered.

"Oh really? How long has she been gone for?"

"About four months."

"Really? Wow, that's quite a long time. When's she get back?"

"I-I'm not really sure," Mr. Hibiki said with a frown.

"You're not sure? Geez man. Well, do you at least know where she is?"

"No..."

"No letters or anything?"

Mr. Hibiki sighed. You could tell he was starting to get annoyed with my dad. "No Ranma. No letters, no phone calls, no nothing. I have no idea where she is, or when she's coming back." He sighed deeply again. "Or if she's coming back at all."

"Oh," my dad said as the reality finally sunk in. "I guess she's still upset about that whole Akari thi... Ow!" He turned sharply to my mom. "What'd you kick me for, you stupid tomboy?"

"For not knowing when to shut your big mouth, Dummy!" She turned back to Mr. Hibiki. "Sorry about that Ryoga."

"It-It's okay..."

Karou stood up quite suddenly. "Excuse me. I just remembered that I have some homework to finish. If it's alright, I think I'll just go on home now."

"K-Karou," Mr. Hibiki said in a concerned voice.

"It's okay Daddy. You can stay here. I'll be fine on my own. Do you think you'll be able to get home alright?"

"I'll walk him home," my dad said.

"Alright then," Karou smiled. "I'll be going then. It was nice to meet you all. Thanks for dinner." With a slight bow, she turned to go.

"I'll show you out," my mom said as she started to get up.

"Oh no, don't trouble yourself. That's quite alright. I'll just let myself out. Goodnight everyone." 

Everyone muttered a casual goodbye as she left the room. I watched her go, feeling slightly concerned. She had acted a little sad when Ichiro said he didn't want to go out with her, but I was pretty sure that was just an act. However, when my dad started to mention her mother she had really seemed tense. I hoped she was okay. When I turned back to the table I noticed that Ichiro's eyes had followed her departure as well. If I didn't know better I would've thought the look on his face was one of concern, or maybe even sympathy. Then he turned to look at me and the worried expression was gone. He made a gesture as if to say, _'What the hell are you looking at?'_ I merely rolled my eyes and went back to my meal. My dad and Mr. Hibiki began to converse again about old times and whatnot. I wasn't paying much attention. Then quite suddenly Ichiro stood up and asked to be excused.

"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go on up to bed. I'm a little worn out from training this afternoon and I have to get up kind of early. Goodnight all." He didn't wait for anyone's response as he left the room.

'_Okay now that's strange. Ichiro never gets tired. And he almost never goes to bed early…'_

"You know, I think I'll go too…" I started.

"Oh no you don't," my mom interrupted. "It's your turn to help me with the dishes."

"But Mom!" I complained.

"No buts. Now hurry up and finish your dinner so we can get started."

I sighed. Mom was always getting in the way of my plans to mess with Ichiro. But I knew perfectly well that there was something more going on than any of us could see. There was something between Ichiro and Karou, and I for one was going to get to the bottom of it.

* * * *

Author Notes:

**Reviews -** I didn't get that many reviews, but the ones that I did receive were really nice. In answer to your question **Selene**, yes Ranma and everyone else still have their curses. As for this story having chaos, all I can say is it's not going to be the same kind of chaos you see in the Ranma 1/2 series, but there's definitely going to be chaos of a slightly different variety. To everyone else, thank you so much for all the reviews.

**Coming Up - **Chapter 3: Ichiro - Standing in the Spotlight. This chapter is going to recount the same day but will be told from Ichiro's point of view. I'm a firm believer that there's always more than one side to a story. So for those of you who are thinking Ichiro's a total jerk right now... Well, you're partially right. But wait until you hear what he has to say before you really start to hate him. Don't worry, the next chapter won't be redundant or anything. I'll skim over the things we've already heard about from Ayame's account of the day and mostly focus on the things that she wasn't around for. So look forward to the next chapter! Ja ne!


	3. Ichiro, Standing in the Spotlight

Dislaimer: The two songs featured in this chapter are by Jimmy Eat World, not me. More information at the end of the chapter. Oh yeah, Ranma ½ isn't mine either but that one should be obvious. 

Chapter 3: Ichiro – Standing in the Spotlight

* * * *

_"Nobody understands me…"_

From my perch on the fence I peered down at my younger sister who was walking along side of me on the ground. I'd told her she should try walking up on the fence as well, but she declined. She gave some lame excuse about boys looking up her skirt, but I knew the real reason was that she was too scared she'd fall or something being the klutz that she is. I mean come on! As if anyone would actually want to look up that stick girl's skirt or anything. 

I grimaced. My little sister was starting high school. Unfortunately for me, that meant I had to look out for the brat. It's kind of like an unspoken big brother's code. Well, maybe it's not so unspoken. After all, Dad did pull me aside this morning and threaten me with lots and lots of pain that if anything were to happen to her he'd inflict… Well, lots and lots of pain on me. It's a good thing she's not really pretty or anything or I'd have to worry about all the guys going after her. I looked at her a little harder. Well… She was kind of cute. No great beauty or anything, but she's a Saotome. She had to have inherited some good looks. There wasn't much there in the chest department but she had a nice face. I groaned at that thought. She had just enough appeal for all the perverts at school to be drooling all over her. 

Ayame suddenly turned her head towards me and made a face. "What are you looking at?" she asked in a rude tone.

I rolled my eyes. "Nothing, stupid." Ayame was such a self-righteous brat. There I was thinking about her welfare and she just had to go and act all snooty. 

She turned her nose up in the air and faced forwards again with a haughty, "Hmph."

I narrowed my eyes. If that was how she wanted to be... "Now remember, we do NOT know each other, okay?" I said.

"Fine by me."

"And don't come running to me if you get into any trouble, you got it?"

"Like I would in the first place. Considering all the trouble you got into last year I wouldn't be so stupid."

I glared at her. Who did she think she was anyway? So I got into a little bit of trouble last year. Big deal. After all, not everyone can get perfect grades and stay out of trouble like Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. And as for the bullying and stuff, what can I say? I have a reputation to keep up. It's not easy being the most popular guy in school!

_"Nobody understands me…"_

I frowned and my mood grew more somber as I repeated the thought. It really wasn't easy being the most popular guy in school. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. 'Oh, poor little Ichiro. All the girls want him, all the guys want to be like him, boo-hoo. What a horrible existence!' Well, the fact is, it's true. It is a horrible existence. No one knows who I am. From day one I've been forced to uphold people's expectations of me. Hell, I'm so busy pretending to be the guy everyone wants me to be that I don't even know who I am myself. So nobody understands me. Not even me.

Even before I was born my parents had decided for me. I was to be the best martial artist of all times. Sure, I like martial arts and all. It's pretty cool to go around knowing you could take out any guy you come across, regardless of his size and stature. But it's not like I chose it. Since I'm a Saotome, and I've taken martial arts for so long, people expect me to be good. They expect me to be the best. And the truth is I enjoy being the best. Who wouldn't? But in the back of my mind I know that someday I'm going to come across someone who's better. And when that day comes I don't know what I'll do. What will people think of me then? It's a lot of pressure, always staying a step ahead of everyone else, dreading and praying at the same time for the day when someone will finally catch up. Sometimes I do pray for that day to come, because that'll be the day when I'll find out who my true friends are. But at the same time I dread that day, because I'm afraid that when it comes I'll find out that I don't have any true friends at all.

Sure I'm popular. Sure I'm surrounded every day by people. But they don't really know me. They don't really see me. They see what they want to see. If they truly saw me they'd know how unhappy I really am. They'd see through who I pretend to be. They'd understand... That I'm sick of pretending. I'd rather be alone and by myself than alone in the middle of a crowd. 

I made the mistake of actually thinking I wanted to be popular once. My reputation was at stake, and I told myself I would do whatever I had to do in order maintain it. Unfortunately the price of popularity cost me a lot more than I had expected. It cost me the only true friend I ever had, and the only girl I ever really cared about. That's when I realized that popularity really isn't worth a thing. But by the time I figured that out it was too late.

"_Nobody understands me…"_

I guess that's not really true. I like to tell myself that she knows. That she still understands despite everything that's happened. She was the only person that ever knew me for who I really was. She made me feel comfortable. Made me feel as if I could tell her anything. And I did. I told her about how I felt. How I always felt pressured to act a certain way. The way everyone expected me to act. I told her that I was afraid of not being the best. Of losing at something. Because then everything that I had would disappear. 

She actually listened to me, and she believed me. I showed her things that I didn't have to courage to show to anyone else. And she didn't laugh at me. She encouraged me instead. And in addition to that, she inspired me. She had goals in life. All I ever thought about was how to act, and who to be from one day to the next. But she didn't just think about the present, she thought about the future as well. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with herself, who she wanted to be when she grew up. I admired that. She was like no one I had ever met before. I enjoyed just being with her. Just thinking about her. She was the first real friend I ever had. Maybe the only real friend I ever had. And for the first time ever I began to learn what life was really about.

Unfortunately, I learned that lesson too late. Just when I had gotten her to trust me and had her believing I wasn't the self centered, stuck up player everyone thought me to be, I proved her wrong. She found out just how low I would go in order to be popular. She found out that the only reason I had been talking to her in the first place was because I had placed a bet that I could get her to go out with me within a month. When she confronted me about it I couldn't deny it. After all, it was the truth. It was a bet. A bet I thought I could handle. Funny thing is I never really thought I'd fall for her. I never really thought she'd be the one person I could open up to.

I'd like to think she still cares, but I'm sure she doesn't. And honestly I can't blame her. I always wanted to apologize, explain what happened, but nothing I could think of to say ever seemed good enough. I meant to apologize, I really did, but I just kept putting it off because I was too scared she wouldn't listen. And before I knew it a month had gone by and I realized it would've been stupid to apologize after waiting so long. In the end it was just easier to let her go on hating me.

And at some point I began to hate her as well. Strange how that happened really. I went from almost loving her to hating her. See, I had trusted her, just as she had trusted me. And in the end I betrayed her trust, so in return, she betrayed mine. She told everyone of my fears, how I had been living a lie. That I wasn't who they all thought I was. She outwardly mocked me, and hit me where she knew it would hurt the most. Maybe I didn't have the right to be upset about it after what I had done to her, but I couldn't help it. It was revenge, I suppose. Revenge I deserved, but nonetheless it hurt. It felt as if I had been stabbed in the back. I never thought she'd use all the things I told her to get back at me.

My reputation didn't really suffer because of her comments. I simply told everyone that the only reason I had told her all that stuff was because I was trying to get her to fall for me. After all, everyone knows a girl can't resist a guy that needs her. Everyone believed my story instead, including her. If she hadn't hated me before she sure hated me then. Not only had I used her, but I had lied to her. But the reality was that I hadn't. Everything I said was true. But of course she couldn't have known that.

She stopped spreading stories about me, but the insults continued unhindered. Eventually I started to fight back, meeting her insult for insult. After a while it got old and for the most part we would ignore each other completely, merely tossing each other dirty looks on occasion. We rarely spoke, unless it was absolutely essential. However, we would never pass up on an opportunity to humiliate each other. So in the end we became enemies, even though we should have been friends.

I hate her, yet at the same time I can't get her out of my mind. I can't get over her, because she was the one girl that understood me. And somehow I hope that she still does, and always will.

I looked down at my sister once again. I envied her. What did she have to worry about? No one knew who she was yet. She could be whoever she wanted to be. Be the person she really was, and have people accept her that way. How I wish I had it all to do over again. 

I saw that we were approaching the school and called down to her. "Yo, Ayame!" I shouted as I leapt to the ground. She didn't seem to notice me right away so I waved my hand in front of her face trying to bring her back down to earth. "You there?"

"Yeah, Ichiro, what do you want?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

I recoiled slightly. She was acting way more moody than usual. "Geez, what's your problem today?"

"You're my problem! Why'd I have to get such an egotistical, insensitive jerk for an older brother?"

I looked at her in confusion. She was seriously tripping about something. "Wow! Where the hell'd that come from?" I asked. "Must be that time of the month or something," I muttered to myself.

"Never mind Ichiro. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to tell you that we're almost at school now, so I'm going to go on ahead of you."

"Oh of course. Can't afford to have anyone seeing us together now can we?"

I smiled at her in a sarcastic way. Ayame was a pest and all, as most little sisters were, but I wasn't really ashamed of her or anything. It was true though. I didn't really want her hanging around me all day. Not that she would. Still, maybe it was better for her if we pretended not to know each other. She could be herself, and not Ichiro Saotome's little sister. "I'm so glad we understand each other." I said before turning and running towards the school. "Catch you later," I shouted back at her over my shoulder.

I sighed. Of course she didn't understand. It's not like I really expected she would. After all, no one else understood me…

* * * *

"Yo Ichiro! Over here!" I inwardly sighed. I hadn't even stepped one foot on the campus and they'd already found me.

"Guess this year's not going to be any different," I mumbled as I turned and walked over to my friends. Well, theoretically they were my friends…

"Hey guys, long time no see. How was your summer?" I asked as I approached them.

"It was awesome! We all went to the beach. You should've been there, the girl's were totally hot!" said Koji. I rolled my eyes. Koji was the pervert of our group. He was completely obsessed with girls. It was rare for him to talk about anything other than girls, girls, girls. Still, I think in all the time I've known him he's had only one girlfriend. However, he broke up with her because she wasn't cute enough or something. Or at least that's the story. In reality she probably dumped him. See, unfortunately for Koji, he didn't measure up too well in the looks department. Koji was shorter than most guys his age and was the thinnest guy I'd ever met in my life. He had absolutely no muscle whatsoever. Plus, he was your stereotypical nerd, complete with the thick wide rimmed glasses. Still, all and all he wasn't really that bad. He could've probably had a girlfriend, but he always went for girls that were way out of his league. Koji was most likely the smartest guy in our class and would've gotten the highest marks, but he purposely slacked off and failed his exams in order to keep up his reputation. He was the living, walking example of what happens when a brain falls in with the popular kids.

"Yeah, they were hot. Too bad all you could do was look," Yuri stared down at Koji with a cruel grin, and Koji pouted. Apparently Yuri's statement was true, not that I was too surprised. 

Yuri was the tallest of our group. He was the captain of the kendo team this year, something that only added to his popularity status. Still, Yuri wasn't very good at sword fighting or anything else for that matter. However, that didn't stop him from picking a fight with practically every guy in school. Nor did it stop him from being the most arrogant guy I'd ever met in my life. Yuri was fairly good looking and pretty popular with the girls. It seemed as if he had a new girlfriend every week, and sometimes he was dating more than one at a time. It was amazing he hadn't run out of girls to ask yet. Not all of the girls said yes, but the majority did, and even if they did say no to him he didn't care. He'd swing right back and ask someone else out instead.

"At least he didn't go out with a guy," Miro interjected, ending Yuri's taunting. 

Yuri flushed bright red. "Hey! That wasn't my fault! No one could have been able to tell that Kiki was a guy!"

"I knew," said Miro.

"Yeah, me too," added Koji.

"How?" Yuri demanded.

"Adam's apple," Miro said simply, with a slight smirk. Yuri hung his head in defeat and embarrassment. Miro had a way of getting the best of people. That's probably why he was the leader of our group. Miro was suave and sophisticated. Everyone feared and respected him. After all, the social world was built on rumors, and no one knew how to manipulate a story like Miro did. Miro was used to getting what he wanted. His father was incredibly wealthy. Rumor had it that his father was a member of the Yakuza, but I'm pretty sure that was a lie. Rumor also had it that Miro was a black belt in some obscure form of karate. I actually believed that one, even though the two of us had never fought. See, Miro was good enough to tell just by looking at me that he'd never stand a chance. He figured that out during the first week of school last year. Yuri was trying to pick a fight with me because his girlfriend of the time had asked me out. However, before we could actually start our fight Miro intervened. He told Yuri to cool it. After all, they needed me as a friend and not an enemy. Even though he acknowledges that, the two of us clash quite frequently. Like I said, Miro's the leader of our group. He like's to be in control, and I don't like to be told what to do. It's not that I want to be the leader or anything. It's just that I don't want to be a follower. At least not anymore.

The three of them weren't really the type of people you'd think would be friends, but they were nonetheless. And strangely enough it seemed right, the three of them. Together they made up the most popular, respected and feared guys in school. So where exactly did I fit in? Mostly I think it's the name of Saotome that intrigued them the most. They wanted to be feared and respected, and with me on their side, that was ensured. After all, I had an unbeatable reputation, and people just seemed to be drawn to me. I was the person that all the guys revered and all the girls loved. It just seemed right to take on the role of a popular guy. It came so naturally to me somehow. And I guess it wasn't that bad of a role. But there were times where I would wonder what it would be like to just be normal. Like I mentioned earlier, I wished that... 

"Um, excuse me, Ichiro-kun?"

We all turned to face the timid girl who had just approached me. "Oh um, hey, it's Mariko right?"

"Um, no, actually it's Yukina."

"Oh. Sorry Yukina," I said scratching the back of my head in embarrassment. "Must've gotten you confused with someone else."

"It's okay," she said while blushing. "Listen, Ichiro-kun, I was sort of wondering if you know…" She looked down at her feet and kicked at the dust. "I mean if you're not seeing anyone that is… Maybe you… might… maybe want to go out with me?"

I looked at the girl. She was definitely cute in a sweet and innocent kind of way. But still... I gulped slightly. I hated turning girls down. No matter how many times I did it, it never got any easier. "Look, I'm sorry, Mar-uh Yukina. You're a really cute girl and all, it's just that I'm really not looking to go out with anyone right now. Sorry."

Her face fell and she nodded stiffly. "O-Okay then. Sorry to have bothered you." With that she turned and walked away. I sighed.

"Okay, so what was wrong with her?" Yuri asked, checking the girl out as she walked away.

I glared at him. "Nothing. She's just not my type."

"What's not your type? Cute girls aren't your type?" he continued.

"Yeah Ichiro," Koji added. "If she's not your type than what girl is?"

"Just drop it, okay?" I growled hoping they'd end the conversation. No such luck.

"Well seriously Ichiro, have you ever even had a real girlfriend?" Yuri asked. "I mean a whole school of beautiful girls that are dying to go out with you and you're still single? What's wrong with you man?"

"Yeah, Ichiro, I mean you know you could have any girl here you wanted!"

Suddenly Miro, who had been silent so far, chuckled lightly. "Well, almost any girl…" We all followed his gaze to the long haired girl that had just walked through the gate. She had a serene look on her face as she clutched her books tightly to her chest and glanced around the schoolyard. Then, by chance her eyes fell upon me and her smile turned into a frown.

The sound of the school bell and Miro's laughter echoed in my ears and then she was gone. I turned around and glared at Miro. "Well, she would like me if it wasn't for you!" I paused briefly and then decided I'd better retract my words. "Not that I care, mind you."

Miro just continued to laugh. "Oh it's my fault then, is it?"

"Come on guys," Koji said, growing nervous. "We're going to be late for class."

"Honestly Saotome," Miro continued. "You have no one to blame but yourself. No one forced you to take that bet. It was your own fault."

"Yeah, that much is true. I didn't have to take that bet. But you didn't have to interfere with things the way you did."

He shrugged. "It was part of the bet remember. If you fe..."

"But I didn't!" I growled at him before he had a chance to finish the sentence. It would be best not to let Yuri and Koji in on that part of the bet. It would only be one more thing for them to tease me about, and would encourage their suspicions. 

"Sure you didn't, Saotome."

I glared at him hard. He merely smiled back at me and continued to laugh. 

"Come on guys!" Koji whined. "It's the first day of school! Shouldn't we at least _try_ to make a good first impression with our teachers?"

"Koji's right guys. Now's not the time for this. Besides, it's an old topic. Seriously, there are hundreds of girls at this school. Find a different one to fight over."

"We're not fighting over her!" I shouted at Yuri suddenly. "I couldn't care less about that stuck up chick. Like I told you long ago, she's not even that attractive!"

I pretended not to notice as they rolled their eyes. "Yeah, sure, Ichiro. Whatever you say," Yuri said in an attempt to placate me as we headed to class.

* * * *

As soon as I entered the classroom I was greeted by my classmates. "Hey Ichiro," said one of the guys as he gave me a high five. "How'd summer treat you?"  
"Pretty good," I responded as I made my way towards the center of the room where my seat was located. The whole class immediately swarmed around me as I sat on the top of my desk.

"What'd you do?" asked another guy.

"Oh you know. The usual. Went on a training trip with my dad and all." Just as I finished my sentence, the door opened and Karou walked in. We locked eyes for a brief moment before she looked away with an angry sigh.

"Wow," said all the girls in awe as they giggled. 

"That's what you did on your summer vacation? You sure are devoted," said one of the more bold girls.

"Yeah, well, you have to work hard to be the best," I said. They all laughed lightly.

Karou mumbled something inaudible as she walked past all of us. "What was that Karou?" I asked. "I couldn't hear you over all the laughter over here."

She spun around and leveled me with an annoyed glare. "I said you're full of crap."

I reeled back in mock surprise. "Wow. Now, Karou, is that any way for a lady to talk?"

"Gee, Ichiro-chan," she said in a fake, sweet voice. "You're absolutely right! I don't know what I was thinking! Here, is this better? Go to hell!"

"Hmm, no thanks. Rather not. I don't care much for the heat. Hey I know! Why don't you go on ahead of me? Your cold attitude ought to be enough to cool the place down." I grinned and everyone laughed at my joke. 

Karou rolled her eyes and then pretended to laugh as well. "Wow, you really got me there Ichiro. Don't know what to tell you. Maybe if I had a whole audience of mindless admirers to laugh at every little lame joke I made I could come back with a suitable insult for you."

There were a few snickers from the crowd around me, but they were immediately repressed and turned into coughs. I narrowed my eyes at Karou. She gave me a fake smile and then twirled around and plopped down in her seat. 

It was at that very moment the teacher entered the room. He frowned at the sight of all of us out of our seats. Then his eyes fell on Karou, sitting like a perfect little angel at her desk. "Well," he said as he made his way over to the desk at the front of the room. "Nice to see at least one of you is ready for class to start. I guess Miss Karou and I will just have to wait for the rest of you."

We all groaned and took our seats. Karou smiled back at the teacher like the sweet and innocent little student she wasn't. _'Man, that girl is so annoying,'_ I thought to myself.

Once everyone had sat down the teacher began his lecture. After the first few sentences I began to tune him out and leaned back in my chair, scribbling randomly in my notebook. Somehow my thoughts traveled unhindered to Karou and I found myself thinking about the girl that seemed bent on irritating me to no ends.

_'What's with her today anyway? I mean sure, I can understand how she'd be upset with me about what happened before summer, but why's she's going and taking it out on everyone else? That comment about everyone being my mindless admirers seemed a little out of character for her. And then the whole teacher's pet act. What's she trying to do? Make everyone hate her?'_

I glanced over at her briefly. There she was, totally absorbed in the lecture, taking notes and hanging on every word the teacher said. _'I just don't get it,'_ I thought as I turned back to the scribbling in my notebook. _'Karou was always a little quiet and all, but she was likeable at least. Now she seems like this stuck up, miserable little witch. She used to be so nice. Sure, the guys all said she was cold because she turned them all down for dates, but the truth was she did it in the nicest way possible. I made the mistake of thinking it was because she was snotty before. But then when I got to know her I realized that she wasn't anything like that at all. She was sweet, and fun, and she cared about what I had to say. But now she was the epitome of everything I had once thought her to be. Cold, aloof, and snobbish.'_

With a sigh I read over the words I had just written out in my notebook.

_// What could I say,_  
_ To make it okay?_  
_ And what could I do,_  
_ To make things right with you?_  
_ Should I right all my wrongs?_  
_ Or should I give up?_  
_ Just let you go _   
_ And wish the best for you_  
_ And me… //_  


_'Damn,'_ I thought to myself. _'Where the hell did that come from? I think I've heard something like this before though. From one of those English c.d.'s. The concept's a lot similar. I think Koji had a copy of it. I'll have to ask him to let me borrow his c.d.'s later so I can figure out where it came from.'_ I reread the lines and smiled, slightly proud. _'Not that bad really. Maybe I'll put it to music when I get home.'_

Not many people know about it, but I play the guitar and sing. I remember when I was really little I saw a man playing on the street corner. Everyone else seemed to rush by the man, never stopping to listen to his song. But for whatever reason I was entirely entranced by the music. It wasn't so much the lyrics of the song, or the tune, but the way in which the man poured all of his emotion into the instrument he held. I remember being completely baffled at how someone could put such feeling into an inanimate object. It didn't seem possible to me. And yet somehow it was. From that moment on I wanted to recreate what I had seen on that day. I wanted to express my feelings through music. 

So, I begged and I pleaded and eventually my parents bought me a guitar. My dad wasn't too thrilled about it. He thought that I should spend my spare time practicing martial arts and not messing around with a silly old instrument. But my mom was always very supportive. She was more musically inclined. After all, she did have the most beautiful singing voice I'd ever heard. Almost like an angel.

Mom said I had a beautiful voice as well. So did Karou. I smiled slightly. Karou was the only person I ever sang for, outside of my family that is. I was rather self conscious about my musical talents. Maybe it was because of my dad's constant quipping about singing and playing the guitar being a waste of time, and not very manly, or maybe it was just because I was afraid of what people might say. What if they said I wasn't any good? For whatever reason, I always kept my abilities to myself. But Karou was different. I trusted her. I shook my head. _'How'd I get back to thinking about Karou again?'_ I wondered. I sighed inwardly and began to flip through my notebook, scanning the lyrical entries I had written. It had been a habit of mine for a long time to simply let my mind wander and scribble out whatever lines popped into my head. Sometimes the lines I wrote would be pretty lame and worthless, but every once in a while I'd write something I was rather proud of. Writing songs was my way of expressing whatever I was feeling. However, I hadn't written much since everything that happened with Karou. Everything I wrote just tended to seem so depressing, so I stopped. Today's lines were the first I had written in months.

I looked back at one of the few entries I had made after Karou and I broke things off. _'Man, I was really messed up then,_' I thought to myself. Then I flipped back to the entry I had made today and sighed. _'This isn't much better. I can't believe I'm still not over her after all this time.'_

Without even being aware of it I turned my head and looked over at Karou. I smiled as I watched the way she chewed on the end of her pencil in a cute way, and wrinkled her forehead slightly in a perplexed manner as she worked through a troublesome math problem. She bent over her paper then and began to scribble on it with her pencil. As she did, her ever present braid fell in her face, and in an absent minded, but gentle gesture she swept it back behind her ear, only to have it fall down into her face again. She sighed, pouted slightly and straightened herself so that her hair wouldn't fall forward. As she did, she got a puzzled look on her face and began to look from left to right, scanning the room, as if knowing someone was watching her. Eventually her scanning stopped as her eyes fell upon me. For the second time that day we locked eyes. She looked stunned to see me staring at her like that with a smile on my face. I gulped, finally realizing I had been gaping at her and that she had caught me in the act. I wanted to turn away to hide my embarrassment, but somehow I couldn't. Her lips parted slightly and I could tell she was about to mouth something to me, but then the bell rang and all of the students jumped up from their seats, obscuring my view. I looked up as well, in confusion, the moment's trance completely broken.

_'How long was I zoning out for?'_ I wondered. I looked up to see the teacher at the front of the room was no longer the older strict man that had started class earlier that morning, but a young, slightly attractive woman. _'Geez, the teacher's even rotated already. I must've really been out of it to miss that. And now it's lunch time.'_

I looked back towards Karou again, but she was already gone. I sighed, looking at the desk she had vacated. It wasn't until a hand clamped on my shoulder that I came out of my reverie. 

"Hey man," Yuri said. "Whatcha got there?" he asked, reaching for my notebook. I quickly snapped the book shut and yanked it out of his range before he got to it.

"Don't even bother, Yuri," Miro yawned. "No one knows what he writes in there all the time. And it's not like you can get it away from him anyway. Might as well forget it."

"That's right," I said. "Don't even think about it or I'll make you regret it," I warned.

"Geez, okay. Whatever. Just curious is all."

I sighed and put my notebook away. As I did, I noticed my c.d. player at the bottom of the bag. "Hey Koji, you wouldn't happen to have your c.d.'s with you, would you?" I asked as I remembered that I wanted to borrow them earlier.

He looked at me strangely. "Um, yeah, sure," he said, pulling out a thick c.d. case from his own bag.

"Thanks," I said as I snatched them away from him. I immediately began leafing through the case.

"Um, what are you doing Ichiro?" Yuri asked.

"I just wanted to listen to some music," I said. "Is that a problem?"

"Um, no, but why not listen to your own c.d.'s?"

"I left them at home," I stated simply. That was actually true enough, although not the real reason why I wanted to listen to Koji's c.d.'s. Yuri seemed to accept my answer though, because he shrugged and turned back to the other guys who began to ignore me and strike up their own conversation while clustered around my desk.

I flipped through Koji's c.d.'s swiftly, hoping I'd recognize the particular c.d. I was looking for. "Ah, there it is," I muttered to myself as I found a familiar silver and red c.d. towards the back of the case. I pulled it out and looked at it. The c.d. was one of those random mix c.d.'s Koji was always burning. I could tell this was the English one because he had scribbled on the top of the c.d. with a sharpie the words 'Koji's Myx,' in English letters. I rolled my eyes. Koji had even spelled the word 'myx' wrong in an attempt to be cool. Pushing such thoughts aside I popped the c.d. into my player and began scanning through the songs. One song seemed familiar and I paused to listen to it.

_ // You say the most beautiful things…//_

I frowned as I recognized the song and frantically pushed the 'next' button. I shuddered. _'Bad memories,'_ I thought to myself as I continued my search. _'Oh wait!'_ My head called as I found the particular song I was looking for. I settled back and listened to the words carefully, trying to pick out the meaning despite my poor English skills.

_ // Still sitting there with your legs crossed,  
Not paying attention to me.  
If we talk, just curious, would this end up like it always does?  
All the wrong I've done.  
All the wrong I'll do.  
Keeps me from trying.  
It keeps me quiet.  
Throw out your arms to each side.  
It's easier to let things go.  
When we talk, think what we say: _

_ There's questions then silence and in silence we remain.  
All the wrong I've done and all the wrong I'll do.  
It keeps me from trying.  
Keeps me from calling you.  
Something I just found out.  
Something you know by now.  
Hope makes you so strong.  
Strength keeps you alone and far away…//_

The song ended and I sat in silent contemplation. The words all hit a little too close to home. _'It's probably better this way…'_ I thought to myself. An image of Karou almost mouthing something to me flashed into my head and I found myself filled with an overwhelming curiosity to know what it was she would have said. _'Ah screw it. What do those stupid American song writers know anyway? After all, don't half of the marriages in America end in divorce?' _With that thought I ripped the headphones off as I rushed towards the door in search of Karou. 

* * * *

**Author Notes:** Yea! A cliffhanger. Well, sort of. Too bad we already know from Ayame's account that Ichiro never actually talked to Karou during lunch. Anyway, a few quick notes. 

**Song Credits:** The lyrics in this story that Ichiro wrote were actually written by me. However, the other two songs that popped up were by Jimmy Eat World. The first one, which I only put in one line of, was called "The Most Beautiful Things." You'll see the rest of those lyrics eventually. The second song was called "What Would I Say to You Now." I really did get the inspiration for Ichiro's lyrics after reading the lyrics to this song. Unfortunately at the time I wrote this chapter I hadn't actually heard the song. I just really liked the lyrics. I've recently HEARD the song and I actually don't like it that much. But oh well, who said Ichiro and I have the same taste in music?

**Yakuza:** The Yakuza is basically the Japanese version of the mafia. Miro's father isn't really a member of the Yakuza. The story is just a rumor that Miro encouraged so that people would think he had connections with the Yakuza. It simply makes Miro more intimidating to his classmates.

** Reviews:** I just wanted to respond to some of the questions and comments left by my reviewers.

** Gie – **Several things. First of all, about Kodachi being dead… Um, to tell you the truth I'm not quite sure how she died. It will be addressed in future chapters though, so I guess I'll have to figure it out eventually. Suicide is definitely a possibility. I'm definitely open to more suggestions. ;-) Moving on. Thanks for pointing out that mistake in Chapter 2. I have since corrected it. In regards to the name Akito, I know what you mean. I've seen Fruits Basket before, but to be completely honest with you I wasn't even thinking about that when I named my character, Akito. In actuality I was thinking about Akito Hayama from Kodomo no Omocha. I always liked that name, and since both Akito Saotome and Akito Hayama are in sixth grade when the stories start it seemed to work, although their personalities are a lot different. Akito Saotome is more like Sana Kurata than Akito Hayama.

** Ranma+Akane4Ever – **Thanks for all your comments. In regards to Ranma and Ryoga changing forms, of course they will! What kind of Ranma ½ story would this be without constant water mishaps? However, considering this story revolves mostly around Ranma's and Ryoga's children, it probably won't occur as often as you'd like. Ranma's female half is scheduled to make an appearance in chapter four or five though, so you can look forward to that! Plus there will be plenty of form shifting once I get to the flashback portion of this story.

** Selene – **About Akane, Ryoga, Ukyo and Akari. Um, how best to answer that one… Well, let's just say it will all be clear in future chapters. And hmmm. I liked your idea about Akane saying Ranma's acting like his father. Maybe I'll throw that in somewhere. Thanks for the tip.

** L.F.L.R. – **Regarding Ryoga/Ukyo/Akari. Patience, it'll all be clear in later chapters!

** Daniel do Amaral Rodrigues - ***grin* I'm amused that you referred to the Ryoga/Ukyo/Akari situation as a 'mess.' Let's just say considering what I have in mind for this story, 'mess' is a gross understatement. Don't worry. I do plan to expand on this situation. A lot!

** Everyone - **Anyway, that's it for comments on my reviews. Thank you very much to everyone that took the time to make comments. I really appreciate it. I'm especially enjoying your advice. As I mentioned before, I do have the general plot for the Ichiro/Karou arc planned out, but beyond that I'm totally open to additional ideas.

** Regarding Ryoga/Ukyo/Akari:** A lot of you did mention the Ryoga/Ukyo/Akari thing in the reviews. All I can say for now is yes, Ryoga did have an affair with Akari. Is it realistic for Ryoga's and Akari's characters? Probably not. I did my best to give them as much motivation as possible (Man, that sounds kind of bad), but I have to admit it does seem slightly out of character for them. You've got to remember, this happened quite some time after the end of the manga though. Things do change. And it was kind of necessary for what I have planned for this story.

**Ichiro's and Karou's History** - In case you haven't figured it out yet, I thought I'd state it plainly here. Yes, Ichiro and Karou went on a date once during the school year prior to the one currently being recounted. Karou was the 'hottest' girl in their class and none of the guys could get her to go out with them. Therefore, Ichiro made a bet with Miro that he could get her to go out with him in a month. However, Karou kept refusing him publicly and Ichiro's reputation started to suffer because he couldn't get her to go out with him. This only made him more and more determined. Eventually Ichiro and Karou really got to know each other though, and they became really good friends. Then they ended up going on a date. But then when Karou found out about the whole bet she got really mad at Ichiro, and the two have been enemies ever since. Yes, I know, the whole scenario sounds a little bit like She's All That. Don't know what to tell you there. Anyway, that's just the gist of what happened. Chapter 7 is going to explain their relationship in depth, so look forward to that.

**Coming Soon -** Chapter 4: Ichiro - A Love/Hate Relationship. I'd meant to present Ichiro's story in one chapter, but it got too long so I had to break it up. So chapter four will also be from Ichiro's point of view. Oh, and after that I'm going back to Ayame's POV of the next day. Sorry to those of you who were anxious to hear from Karou. We'll get to her eventually, I promise!


	4. Ichiro, A Love, Hate Relationship

Chapter 4: Ichiro - A Love Hate/Relationship

* * * *

I groaned as I limped back to the classroom.

"Yo man," shouted Yuri. "What happened to you?"

"I got attacked by a herd of freshman."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know! I was just making my way towards the lunch stand when all of a sudden this huge group of girls, and a few guys," I paused to shudder, "Just attacked me!"

Yuri tried to suppress a laugh. "You got beat up by a bunch of girls?"

"Shut up! I was always taught not to fight women. Especially if they don't have any training. Besides, it wasn't so much fighting me as… glomping me." My friends snickered. "Good thing the girls in our class have finally grown out of that screaming and glomping faze," I murmured. "Don't think I could put up with it every day." I sat down at my desk again and sighed.

"Why'd you take off like that so abruptly anyway, Ichiro?"

"Oh no reason," I lied. _'What was I thinking anyway? Chasing after Karou like that. What would I say to her? Look, I'm sorry for what I did to you last year, you want to go out with me? Besides, she made it perfectly clear to Ayame what she thought of me.'_ My chest got a little tight at that thought. It had been a little difficult but eventually I had gotten away from the mob of freshmen. When I did, I made my way towards the lunch stand, only to find my sister and Karou deep in conversation.

"…Take Ichiro for instance," I heard Karou say from where I hid behind the wall. "He's supposed to be this great fighter and all, but has anyone ever actually _seen_ him fight anyone? Sure, there are plenty of stories and all, but as far as I know they're nothing more than rumors. If we've never seen him fight anyone, how can we be sure he can fight at all? As far as I'm concerned, Ichiro's all talk. Whole families probably the same way."

_'All talk? Why I ought to go over there and…'_

My thoughts were cut off as Ayame began to speak. "The Saotomes just believe you shouldn't bully the weak. That's the only reason that Ichiro and the rest of the Saotomes don't fight publicly that much. It's hard to find a worthy opponent. Besides, everyone here knows they wouldn't stand a chance against Ichiro."

I smiled slightly. _'Hey, what do you know? Maybe my little sister's not that bad after all.'_

"Whatever," Karou said. "Sorry, I thought we were on the same side here."

"In regards to Ichiro Saotome we are. Believe me, no one hates that jerk as much as I do." 

I glared at my sister's back. _'So much for thinking she wasn't that bad. Whatever happened to family loyalty?'_ I'd heard enough so I made my way back to class where I was able to sit and think about what I had just witnessed.

_'Well, at least I know how Karou really feels about me now. I don't know what I was thinking there for a moment. Sure, she used to be a great girl and all, and sure I liked her a lot, but she's changed so much that I don't even know her anymore! She's Karou, the cold hearted, mean spirited, backstabbing witch that does nothing but tear me down constantly. And that's all she'll ever be. All she'll ever be…'_

* * * *

I pulled my gym T-shirt over my head and then slammed my locker closed, a small smile forming on my lips. This may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but I don't like school that much. Yeah, shocking isn't it? I'm not really the academic type. That's more of Ayame's area. She got all the brains in the family. Every day at school I simply count the hours until I can finally go home. However, I must admit I do tend to look forward to gym class. After all, it's the only class that I'm actually good at. Anyway, the day was almost over. All I had to do was get through gym and I would be home free. First day would have been over with, and outside of that stupid lunch incident with the freshmen it would've been an okay day. Or so I thought.

"Hey man!" A hand fell onto my shoulder shaking me slightly, and with a feeling of annoyance I looked over to find the hand belonged to Koji. "Guess what? I just heard that the next unit for the girl's gym class is going to be swimming!"

I cocked my eyebrow at him. "So?"

"So!? So you know what that means right?"

Yuri, who was on the other side of me, closed his locker as well and turned towards us with a smile on his face. "Beautiful girls in bathing suits!" he said, answering Koji's question.

"Oh please," I said rolling my eyes. Why did my friend have to be such perverts?

"Ah come on, Ichi," Yuri quipped. "Don't tell me you're not even the slightest bit interested?"

"No, I'm not. I couldn't care less about seeing a bunch of girls in swimsuits."

"Not even a certain blue eyed beauty?" Koji asked, practically drooling.

I narrowed my eyes and turned back to my locker. "I have no clue what you're talking about," I said in an irritated tone. Actually, I knew exactly who they were talking about, but playing ignorant was always the smartest course with Yuri and Koji.

"He means Karou Hibiki of course," Yuri said.

I sighed. The whole routine was starting to get old. They'd mention Karou, I'd pretend I didn't know what they were talking about and then go into a long tirade about how much I wasn't interested. "Oh please!" I shouted as the three of us made our way towards the locker room door. "Why would I want to see that… that… annoying chick in a swimsuit?" I had to admit, as far as insults went, there weren't many you could make about Karou. At least not in the looks department. That was a conundrum that had served to frustrate me to no ends. However, I had plenty of success in making up for such lack of physical insults by insulting her in other areas instead.

"Ah come on man," Koji said. "You can deny it all you want, but we all know you hold a soft spot in your heart for Karou," Koji continued in a mocking manner.

"Yeah," Yuri interjected. "After all, of all the girls here at Furinkan she's the only one you ever bothered to take out."

I looked over my shoulder and glared at the two of them as I opened the door to the locker room and made my way outside. "Whatever guys. You know perfectly well that was nothing more than a bet. A bet that was far from worth 50,000 yen If I had it to do all over again there's no way in hell I would've wasted my time on that stupid Karou…"

"Ichiro…" growled a very low, very irritated voice.

I gulped and slowly turned to face forward, only to find my worst fears confirmed.

"Um… Karou…" I laughed nervously. "Listen, about what I just said… I can explain, really!" 

"Don't even bother!" she shouted. "You know, calling me stuck up and cold hearted in class is one thing, but what you just said… Now that's low. Even for you."

I felt my temper flare at that. "Oh really then? And I suppose you badmouthing me to my own sister isn't low?"

Her eyes narrowed. "So what, you're eavesdropping on my conversations now?"

"Oh please, I wouldn't waste my time. And who are you to talk anyway? In case you haven't noticed, this is the boy's locker room. What were you doing out here, waiting for me to come out?"

"As a matter of fact I was."

"A-ha! Wait… What?"

She sighed in exasperation. "I wanted to talk to you. I was thinking that in light of it being a new year and all, maybe we should call a truce or something. You know, you don't insult me, I don't make a complete idiot of you… You get the picture."

"Oh." I was shocked into silence. That actually sounded reasonable. "So you want to call a truce?"

"Nope. Changed my mind."

"What? Why?"

"Well, you see, after talking to your sister I started thinking that maybe we should call a truce. After all, it does seem a little silly to hold a grudge after all this time. But… That was before you made that comment and I remembered what a jerk you were." She shot me a sarcastic grin. "Thanks for reminding me!" With that she spun around and began to make her way down the hall.

"Ah come on!" I shouted after her retreating form. "I was just kidding! Besides, it's like you just said, you can't hold a grudge forever!"

"Watch me!" she yelled without turning around. Before I had a chance to say anything else she had disappeared around the corner.

"Nicely done, Ichiro," said Miro. 

I spun around to face him and my other two giggling friends. "Miro! How long have you been there for?"

"Oh for most of the conversation." I groaned, tossed my hands up in the air and stormed down the hall. "Great! Just great," I grumbled to myself. The laughter of my so called friends was the only indication that they were following.

* * * *

I didn't pay much attention when the gym instructor introduced our current unit in class. Even after he had finished I was still kind of upset about the whole thing with Karou. It was all rather confusing to me. _'Had she really been willing to call a truce? Did I blow it again?'_ I shook my head. _'No! Of course not! Karou's mean to me! She's always insulting me, tearing me down, trying to ruin my life… Me not liking her is a no brainer. Surely she realizes that! Did she actually think I would like her after all of that?'_ I paused as a sudden thought struck me. _'Do I honestly expect her to like me after everything I've done to her?'_ I sighed and continued walking out to the field with my friends and the rest of our class. _'I don't even know if I want her to like me anymore. I don't know if I hate her, or like her or…'_

My thoughts trailed off as we reached the field and I suddenly smiled. We were going to be doing track. I liked track. It gave me an opportunity to show off my talents. I was a very fast runner. No one was faster than me. Well, except for my father. I frowned at that thought. Sure, my dad was better than me in most things, but I had steadily been improving in most areas. My strength and endurance was almost up to his level as it was. It even seemed possible that I might be stronger than him some day. But I still was no where near his level in speed, and it seemed as if my progress in that area was slowing down… I shook my head and pushed those thoughts aside. What difference did it make anyway if my father was faster than me? Speed wasn't everything. And besides, I was still faster than everyone in school!

Two of my classmates finished running the 100 yard dash. _'Pretty good,' _I thought to myself. _'For a couple of amateurs. Guess I better show them how it's done.'_

I made my way through the crowd towards the starting line. There was a slight murmur from my audience, and a chorus of squeals from the class of girls across the field. I smirked. "What?" I shouted to the crowd as I made my way to the front of the class, near the track. "No one wants to go up against me?" As predicted, a bunch of the guys began to chuckle. It was the response I had expected. Sooner or later I'd con some poor guy into racing me. After all, it was no fun to run with no opponent. Maybe I could talk Miro into racing me. The punk had been annoying me lately. It'd be good to put him in his place. But then I knew all too well Miro would never go up against anyone when the odds weren't in his favor. He always was a coward…

I was just about to try and talk him into it anyway when a murmur rang through the crowd and a short boy with a gay looking ponytail made his way towards the starting line. _'Who the heck is that? Is he new or something?'_ I asked myself. _'Man, I must've really been out of it this morning if I didn't notice we had a new student.'_ As he made his way to the front I looked at him more closely. _'Then again, there is something oddly familiar about him. Maybe he isn't new. Nah, he has to be. After all, no one else would be stupid enough to go up against me, right? _

"You're going down Shorty," I said.

The boy smirked and refused to look me in the eye. _'This guy's really cocky,'_ I thought to myself. _'Guess it's about time I put him in his place.' _

We both got ourselves ready and then waited for the whistle. As soon as it was heard, I took off like a flash. It was over in an instant and I turned, expecting to watch as the boy crossed the finishing line. That's when my world was turned upside down. The boy was already there. _'He… He… won? No! No way! It's impossible! It was a fluke, I'd gone easy on him! Sure, that was it!'_

"Heh, not bad Shorty. I guess I underestimated you. I didn't want to humiliate you so I didn't go all out. Care to try it again?"

He nodded once, his confidence unwavering. _ 'Man this guy's really irritating me!' _We made our way to the starting line and prepared to race again. This time I steadied myself and concentrated on the task at hand. _'I'm going to win… I'm going to win… I have to win. I'm Ichiro Saotome. I never lose!'_

The whistle blew and I sprung forward with all the force, strength and speed I could muster. _'Surely this time. Surely…' _ In an instant I had crossed the finish line. But to my dismay I found I hadn't crossed it soon enough. 

"Again!" I shouted. There was no way I was going to let this new punk come along from out of nowhere and make a fool of me.

So we raced. And we raced. Again. And again. Each time, I put all my effort into the task, and each time I was a fraction of a second better than the last time. But every time I passed that finish line, he was already there, waiting for me. I felt as if my world was crashing down around me. How could someone beat me? How could someone be better than me? Eventually, after several races I stopped. I was unwilling to admit defeat, but unable to go on. Through my uneven breath I looked up at the boy. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

And that's when everything went from bad to worse. The boy grinned at me with an annoying smile. Then he pulled the ponytail out of his hair and took off his sweatshirt. Recognition came in an instant. 

I was vaguely aware of the girl speaking to me, taunting me in a way that was far too familiar. Of course I was surprised. Of course I was dismayed. I had been beaten by a girl. A girl I knew all too well. But the thing that really confused me was that feeling of betrayal. And the feeling that I had been lied too. _'She never told me…'_ In truth there were no words for how I felt. All the words that tumbled through my mind were mere fragments of disfigured thoughts. But those feelings of confusion, doubt and hurt… They could all be summed up in two words.

"Karou Hibiki." 

* * * *

I left the campus even before the final bell had wrung. I just couldn't stand it anymore. The way everyone was whispering and laughing, and then growing silent the minute I came near them. _'They don't understand…'_ I kept telling myself. _'They think they know, but they have no idea.'_

I couldn't believe it. Karou had made a fool of me in front of the whole school. Surely she knew what that would do to me. She knew how I hated the thought of losing at anything. Yet she purposely went out and publicly humiliated me like that. The snide comments and dirty looks were one thing, but this was different. It wasn't fair. She knew all my weak spots. She knew how to really get to me. I had no idea how to hurt her like that. There was no way for me to get even with her.

_'And how come all of a sudden she was this really athletic fast runner type? She'd never shown any aptitude for sports before!'_ A less persistent voice in my head reminded me that I had never actually bothered to observe her during gym, being too involved at showing off myself, but I ignored those thoughts. She'd lied to me. That's what all this was about. All those times I'd talked to her about martial arts, and sports, she'd never once mentioned she could run that fast.

A part of me was convinced that it was all some kind of trick. That she really was just an average girl, and by some strange display of luck, chance or magic she had been able to beat me at a race just this one time. After all, she couldn't possibly be better than me at something. No one was better than me at anything. 

It figures she'd have picked something dealing with speed. That was of course where I was the weakest. That was the only area where anyone could have possibly had a chance at beating me. If it had been a test of strength, or endurance, or coordination or something there's no way she could've beaten me. She just had to find the one place where she had a chance and then exploit that, didn't she?

_'But… how?'_ It still didn't make sense to me. Even if speed was my weak point, there was no way some average person could be better than me. Especially not some average girl. _'It just doesn't make sense… For her to beat me, she would have to be…'_

Suddenly I heard the sound of a car horn and I had just enough time to jump out of the way before the car hit me. _'What the… No one ever drives a car through here and I…'_

I stopped then and paused to look around me at the seemingly unfamiliar surroundings. Then suddenly I realized exactly where I was. "Ah man! How'd I get downtown?" I sighed as I turned around and began to run back the other way, hoping to get away from the little okonomiyaki restaurant that was up ahead before anyone saw me. _'Shesh. I can't believe I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I just walked right past my own house! Unbelievable. What's wrong with me lately? Maybe this whole situation is getting to me more than I originally thought. After all, I did get beat by a gi…' _ I growled slightly, unable to finish the thought. _'Okay fine. Then I'll just have to do something about this. She beat me once, but next time she won't be so lucky. I'll show her… Show her that no one beats Ichiro Saotome at anything and gets away with it for long. Just you wait Karou. I'll be so fast that I can run circles around you.'_

I finally reached my house and burst through the doors. I'd beat her, but I couldn't do it alone.

"DDAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

* * * *

After training for what seemed like days I plopped down on the grass with a sigh and began to untie the heavy weights fastened around my legs. "Come on Dad, we both know this isn't going to work!"

"Sure it will," he said. "If you strengthen the muscles in your legs you'll be able to run faster. Besides, you can't keep trying the running across water thing, you'll drown eventually."

"That's not what I mean! I mean sure, eventually I'll get faster and all if I keep up with this kind of training, but I don't have time to wait! I need to be faster now! Didn't the late Master Happosai have some kind of spell or technique or something that can make me really, really fast?"

My father turned and glared at me and I gulped. _'Oh great, he's going to lecture me now!'_

"Son you are far too lazy! You want to get faster? You have to work at it. That's the only real way. Sure, maybe you could get some kind of quick fix, but what good is that to you really? Say you did use some kind of trick that made you incredibly fast. It would work alright, but your body wouldn't be toned to sustain the speed. You'd be constantly pushing yourself beyond your limits. And it wouldn't be long before that would begin to break you down."

I sighed. "I know, I know. It's just that… I can't believe that I got beaten by a… a…" I couldn't even say it.

My dad smirked and sat down beside me. "A girl? Son, seriously, you should know better than that. Girl's aren't as weak as you may think. Besides, my girl half is actually faster than my normal half."

I perked up at that. "So you're saying if I was a girl I'd be able to beat her?"

"No," he said forcefully. "I'm saying my girl half is faster, mostly because I'm lighter and I have less weight to hold me back. However, it took a lot of training in both forms so that I could increase my speed to the level it's at."

I slouched, disappointed. "Besides," he said. "Giving yourself a Jusenkyo curse is not worth beating this girl in a race!"

"I know... I guess I'm just a little desperate. I can't believe she beat me! I'm Ichiro Saotome! I don't lose."

My father chuckled. "You sound just like me, you know that?"

"Well yeah, but you don't lose! Especially not to any girls."

"You got that right! But look, don't beat yourself up about the fact that she was a girl. Back when I was your age some of the toughest opponents I had were females. Take those Amazons for instance. It's been quite some time since you've seen the Matriarch Shampoo, but you've heard all the stories. I can assure you, she was one of the toughest women I ever knew. Your Aunt Kodachi was pretty strong as well. Especially towards the end of her life. And to this day your mother's still the only person that can knock me out with a single punch."

"What about that other girl. Ukyo, right?"

His grin became a little forced then. "Um, yeah. Her too. She was an exceptional martial artist. Still is, I suppose. It's been a long time since I've seen her though… Maybe tonight…"

I turned to face him with a curious look on my face. "Why, what's tonight?"

"Oh, well, tonight we're having some old friend's over for dinner…" He trailed off and turned to look at the fading sun. "Uh oh! What time is it?"

"What are you asking me for? I don't have a watch!"

"Damn! Your mother's going to kill me if we're late getting back." He jumped to his feet. "Come on, let's hurry." 

I jumped to my feet as well and the two of us dashed off towards the house. 

* * * *

I guess it was just one of those day. You know, the kind that starts off not so good… And then gets bad. And then it gets worse. And then just when you think it couldn't get any worse, Karou Hibiki and her father show up for dinner. 

I couldn't believe it! I mean seriously! What were the odds? 

But yeah, after Karou and I initially met up and exchanged the typical insults we all sat down for dinner and I satisfied myself with giving her dirty looks every five seconds while my dad made a pathetic attempt at easing the situation with small talk.

"So, um, I guess you two must be in the same class then, huh?"

"Ha. Unfortunately..." I muttered under my breath.

Karou, who was pretending like I didn't even exist, much to my annoyance, simply smiled at my father. "That's right, Mr. Saotome. I transferred into his class in the middle of last year when we moved to Nerima." I couldn't believe it. What was with the whole imitation of a cute, polite girl? And here my parents were eating it right up! Unbelievable!

"Oh. So how do you like Nerima then?"

"I can't really say. The curriculum at Furinkan was a little different than at my old school so I had to work really hard to catch up to the rest of the class. Plus I help out in the restaurant, so I don't really have much of an opportunity to go out." 

_'Boring,' _I thought. _'Man, does this girl ever talk about anything other than herself? Just on and on and on…'_

"Well, what about this summer?"

"I wasn't around for most of the summer. My dad and I went to China."

I paused, confused. _'China, now that's weird.'_

"Huh? I thought you were going to go to America," I asked. 

Karou looked at me as if she was surprised I had remembered. Or maybe it was just the fact that I was speaking to her without saying anything insulting that surprised her. "Um, no. Unfortunately that didn't work out..." she said before awkwardly turning back to her meal.

"Well then what did you go to China for?" I asked.

She didn't respond immediately and instead just fidgeted in her seat. "We went on a training trip," Mr. Hibiki finally answered for her.

"Huh? A training trip?" 

"Yeah. Karou learns so fast that both her mother and I ran out of things to teach her. So we went on a trip to China this summer so she could learn some new techniques." 

"You practice martial arts?" To say I was surprised would have been an understatement. Her being able to run so fast had been enough of a surprise, but this… I couldn't believe that after all the time we had spent together she'd never once mentioned that she was a martial artist.

Karou sighed. "Um yeah."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"It never came up."

"How can that not come up?"

Karou shrugged. "I don't know..."

"Now there you go," My dad said, interrupting our conversation before I could really get any answers out of Karou. "See, you two probably have a lot in common."

"Yeah," Mr. Hibiki agreed.

"Hey Ichiro, I have an idea," My dad said.

_'Uh-oh. Somehow I know I'm not going to like this.'_

"Since Karou doesn't really know her way around Nerima, why don't you take her out some time?"

"That's a great idea!" Mr. Hibiki added.

_'Yep, I knew I wasn't going to like this.'_

"What are you crazy?" I shouted. "Me? Take out that annoying know it all? Believe me, outside of martial arts we have absolutely nothing in common. Right Karou?"

"I'd agree, but then we'd have another thing in common." I glared at her. Damn she was annoying. How could she be so calm at a time like this?

"Okay, whatever. But that doesn't change the fact that I'd rather run myself through with a rusty katana than take out that boring, geeky, backstabbing wench!" 

"Ichiro!" My mom shouted. "That is no way to talk to a girl. Especially one of our guests! Besides, Karou's been perfectly polite to you since she got here, and all you've done is insult her! I want you to apologize right this instance."

"Yeah, better yet, apologize by taking her out to dinner," my dad interjected again. 

I wanted to scream. I couldn't believe that Karou came into my home, acted all nice and then systematically turned my whole family against me. It was unbelievable! It was a conspiracy! I was vaguely aware of my parents arguing about something or other, but I wasn't paying much attention. All I could think about was the horrible mess my stupid parents had gotten me into. There was no way I was going to take Karou out. Besides, even if I wanted to, there's no way she'd ever say yes… 

"I'll go," she suddenly said in a small voice.

"What?" I shouted as the whole room chorused the same question.

"I said I'll go. After all, it's been a while since I've gone out. I'm usually so busy. It would be a nice change. Besides, since Dad and the Saotomes are such good friends, Ichiro and I should at least try to get along as well."

"What's with the sweet and innocent act all of a sudden?" I asked in a quiet voice so that no one else would yell at me for the comment. She didn't answer though.

"Now see that?" My dad said. "Ichiro, why can't you be more like that? Karou's perfectly willing to give it a try, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Okay, that was about all I could take. I was sick and tired of everyone making me out to be the bad guy. "Because, I can't stand that girl!" I shouted.

"It's okay," Karou said in a saddened voice. "If Ichiro doesn't want to go out with me then I... I.."

_'You have got to be kidding me! She's pretending to cry now! Come on! Like they're really going to fall for that one...'_

"Ichiro! Now look what you've done! You've hurt her feelings!"

"What? Hurt her feelings? She couldn't care less what I say. Believe me, she hates me just as much as I hate her!"

"That's enough. Ichiro, you will take Karou out this Saturday and the two of you will have a good time, or else no allowance for a month."

"B-But that's not fair!"

Mom interjected and tried to testify in my defense while I quickly weighed my options. Take Karou out on a stupid little date or no allowance… I sighed. _'I guess it wouldn't kill me to take her out once. Worst case scenario we fight a lot and I ditch her somewhere. And maybe I can figure out why she's acting so strange...'_

"Fine. I'll take her out. But just once! And I will not enjoy it. You satisfied?" Since that was all I had to say on the subject I went back to my eating.

"Yes, very," my dad said.

"Manipulative shrew," I muttered under my breath in Karou's general direction.

I concentrated on my food as the adults rambled on about something. Sounded like they were talking about Karou's parent's marriage. _'Hmm, I wonder how Karou's taking this. If I remember right, her parent's relationship was a bit of a touchy subject for her…'_

It was then that she abruptly stood up. "Excuse me. I just remembered that I have some homework to finish. If it's alright, I think I'll just go on home now."

"K-Karou," Mr. Hibiki started.

"It's okay Daddy. You can stay here. I'll be fine on my own. Do you think you'll be able to get home alright?"

"I'll walk him home," my dad said.

"Alright. I'll be going then. It was nice to meet you all. Thanks for dinner."

_'Aw man, she seriously seemed upset. Hope she's okay. Not that I care or anything. It's just…' _I watched as she left the room until I realized that someone was looking at me. I turned to find my sister staring at me in confusion. _'What the hell is she looking at me for?'_ She rolled her eyes and then went back to her meal. I went back to eating as well but soon found I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. 

"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go on up to bed. I'm a little worn out from training this afternoon and I have to get up kind of early. Goodnight all." With that said I stood and made my way upstairs before anyone had a chance to stop me. There was just something I had to know.

* * * *

When I reached my room, I climbed out the window and started to make my way across the rooftops in search of Karou. Before too long I noticed a familiar figure and jumped to the ground.

"Yo Karou! Wait up!"

Being the stubborn girl that she is, Karou didn't slow down as she heard my voice. In fact she quickened her pace so that I had to run faster to catch up with her. As I finally fell into pace along side of her she sighed in annoyance.

"What do you want Ichiro?"

"You said you'd go out with me," I said with a cocky matter of fact tone.

"Well thank you Captain Obvious. Do you have a point?"

"No point. Although I must say I'm a little surprised you agreed so quickly considering how it took me almost three weeks to get you to say yes the last time."

"Yeah, well last time it was for real." She turned her head to look at me then and leveled me with a cold stare. "Or at least I thought it was."

"Oh please. You're not still sore about that little prank, are you?"

"What do you think?" she said in a angry tone.

"Ah come on. What do you say we call a truce?"

"Ha. Dream on."

"Why not? You were willing to offer one earlier this afternoon."

"Yeah, well that was because I thought that… Oh never mind. But forget it. There's no way I'm willing to be friends with you now."

"Geez, talk about holding a grudge. Besides, after that stunt you pulled this afternoon I'd say we're even. I humiliated you and you humiliated me. Now let's forget this nonsense and move on with our lives."

She stopped in her tracks. "You're incredible you know that? Do you honestly think that me embarrassing you at a little track match even comes close to what you did to me? You humiliated me in front of the whole school! You played with my emotions and…"

"Wait a minute, what do you mean played with your emotions?"

She stuttered slightly and then waved her hand as she resumed walking. "Oh, never mind! Just leave me alone, Ichiro! It's late, I would like to go home."

"Wait Karou! I mean come on! It was just a little prank! You're making way too much out of the whole thing. I didn't do it because I wanted to hurt you or anything. That was never my intent. Some of the guys just thought you were a little stuck up, and I figured it'd be wise to put you in your place or something."

"Oh gee thanks. So now you're saying I'm stuck up."

"No, I'm saying I _thought _you were stuck up. After all, you turned down practically every guy in the school for a date so I figured…"

"Boy if that isn't that pot calling the kettle black."

"That's different! I wasn't interested in dating any of those girls at school."

"Yeah, and I wasn't interested in dating any of those guys."

"Well I know that now, but then… Look, it's not like I took the money or anything for the bet."

"Oh and I suppose that's supposed to make it all better?"

"Well, I don't know… What do you want from me? I mean I'm trying here."

"Look, Ichiro, if you can't figure that out than you don't deserve to be forgiven."

"Whoa, hold on, who said I was apologizing?"

"My point exactly."

I sighed beginning to grow more and more annoyed by the moment. "Look, this is getting us no where. I just came to see why it was you said you'd go out with me. And I figured since you had your fun this afternoon and all we were even now."

A grin spread across her face and she began to laugh. "Nah, what I did this afternoon had nothing to do with what you did to me. That was just pure simple fun. You go around with this huge ego thinking you're invincible and no one can touch you. Well, I just wanted to bring you back down to reality is all."

"Yeah well I'll have you know that was nothing more than a fluke! I was just having an off day."

"Is that so?"

"Yes! I challenge you to a rematch."

She looked at me as if I was insane. "No thanks, I think I'll pass."

"What? You can't pass!"

"Yes, I can. Besides," she yawned. "It's not much of a challenge racing you."

I glared at her. "Hey, don't take me so lightly. After all, I am the best martial artist in all of Nerima."

"Says who?"

"What do you mean, says who? Says me. Says everyone! I'm undefeated!"

"Yeah, but how can you claim to be the best in Nerima when you haven't fought everyone?"

"I've fought everyone that matters."

"Not me."

I laughed. "Oh please. You can't be serious? Besides, I don't fight girls."

"What's the matter? Scared you might lose like you did at our little race this afternoon?"

"No! I just don't fight girls."

"So you say."

I bit my tongue, trying to keep myself from responding. _'_Why_ does it always have to turn out like this between us?'_ I asked myself. Every time we started to talk we always ended up arguing. However, I didn't want to argue. That wasn't why I had chased her down... I took a deep breath and then continued. "So how come you never mentioned you were a martial artist before?"

She tossed her hands up in the air, clearly annoyed by my sudden change of topic. "I don't know, it just never came up, okay?"

"Oh come on, Karou, how can you not mention something like that?"

"I don't know!" she repeated in exasperation. "Look, I just… Oh what's it to you anyway? It's late Ichiro. Go home. I'm not in the mood for idle small talk, okay?"

"Fine. I'll go. But just answer my question. Why'd you agree to go out with me this Saturday?"

"Because I'm madly in love with you."

"Really?" I asked stunned.

"No! Of course not you idiot. I was being sarcastic."

"Well, I knew that!" She rolled her eyes. "Karou, I'm being serious here. Why'd you agree to the whole thing?"

She sighed and turned to face forward again. "My dad's pretty persistent. Once he gets his mind set on something he sticks to it. I suspect your father's the same way. Anyway, for whatever reason, the two of them seem to think we'd make a cute couple or something. So I figured we could either fight the whole thing until we're blue in the face, or we could just go out now and get the whole thing over with. When the date's a complete disaster and they see how much we hate each other, I suspect they'll give up on the idea of any future dates. Besides, _your_ parents seem to get along pretty well. I didn't want to be the cause of an argument or anything between them."

"Oh," I said simply. _'Why is it that I feel disappointed?'_ I wondered.

"Why'd you think I said yes?"

"I-I don't know." There was an awkward silence, and I continued to walk along side of her. She didn't tell me to leave. I looked over at her. It was bothering her. The situation between her parents. I could tell... "You know, all couples fight at times. Just because your mom…"

Karou sighed in annoyance. "Look, Ichiro, my personal life is none of your business. And I don't want your pity okay? Now is there anything else? Because I really need to get going."

I gulped. "Well I… Just…" I looked at her impatient face and gave up. "No, I guess not."

"Fine then. Good night Ichiro."

With that said she quickened her pace again, leaving me behind her. I stopped, and stood for a while staring at her retreating form. Not once did she look back. I sighed.

_"Nobody understands me…"_

* * * *

**Pictures:** For those of you that are interested, I have a lot of pictures and character sketches of the Eighteen Years cast back at my website. I even have some really cool group pictures, including one of Ichiro and Karou that I'm quite proud of. So please check those out!

**Coming Soon **- Chapter 5: Ayame - Questions and Answers. Finally moving on to a DIFFERENT day. Lol. I highly doubt I'll do this again where I recount the same day from a different prospective. I just did that so you could all get a sense of what the characters were really like. This stories going to pick up it's pace from here on out. Anyway, until next time, PLEASE review, okay? I hardly got any reviews last time, although the ones I did get were very nice. Thank you for those. Okay, that's it for now. Ja ne!


	5. Ayame, Questions and Answers

Chapter 5: Ayame - Questions and Answers

* * * *

The annoying yet familiar sound of an alarm clock woke me from my pleasant dreams. I barely resisted the urge to snuggle back into my pillow and forget all about the worries the day would bring. However, reality dragged me to my senses, and in a moment I was out of bed and making my way over to my window to open the curtains. "Hmmm, at least it's a beautiful day." Out of the corner of my eyes I noticed something strange and looked down into our yard.

I began to laugh lightly. There was my stupid older brother, Ichiro, sitting on the ground, poking at a fire with a stick. "What an idiot. I thought he'd given up on that technique." I turned away from the window and quickly changed into my gi before running down the stairs, intent on catching all of the action. Once I reached the last step I caught sight of a redheaded female, making her way towards the bathroom.

"Morning Dad," I called.

"Oh! Ayame, hey, I was uh, just sort of…"

I giggled. "I guess Mom's not too happy about you setting Ichiro and Karou up, is she?"

He sighed. "No, not really."

Like I said before, my parents hardly ever fight, but when they do, they have very strange ways of expressing their anger. For instance, one of Mom's favorite punishments for my dad is making him sleep as a girl. It's a little odd, but then I suppose it's better than punching him through the roof. Not to mention quite a lot cheaper.

"I was just going to go take a hot bath…"

"Well, before you do that Dad, you might want to check on Ichiro."

"Oh great. What's he doing this time?"

"Well…"

I was interrupted by a loud scream coming from the yard. Dad and I shared a brief look before rushing outside. What we found was rather comical. Ichiro had caught himself on fire and was dancing around, waving his arms like a chicken in an attempt to extinguish the flames. Nearby, my younger brother Akito stood and smirked at the display. As soon as Ichiro came into close range he kicked him straight into the koi pond. After a few seconds Ichiro surfaced, spurting water.

"Hey! Akito! What'd you do that for?"

"I was just trying to help put out the fire," Akito said in an innocent voice that was only ruined by the failed attempt at biting back his laughter.

"Sure you were," Ichiro glared. He wasn't about to fall for Akito's sweet and innocent act. "I had it under control, Akito, thank you very much."

"Whatever you say, big brother," Akito said as he reached out a hand to help Ichiro out of the water. 

Ichiro glared at the boy for a moment and then took the extended hand. Just as he began to lean on the support and pull himself out, Akito let go allowing Ichiro to fall back into the water. He immediately surfaced again and yelled at the younger boy. "OKAY SO WHAT WAS THAT FOR THEN?!?"

"That was for flirting with my girlfriend."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Karou! She's my girlfriend! So you better stay away from her, or else!"

"What are you crazy? First of all, there's no way I'm going to take orders from some eleven year old…"

"Twelve!" Akito whined.

"Whatever! And second of all," he continued as he pulled himself out of the water. "I have absolutely NO interest in that stuck up, two faced, conniving Karou Hibiki. You can have her for all I care." With that said he spun on his heel and stormed towards the house, leaving Akito to glare after him. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Ichiro!" My dad yelled. "I thought I told you not to try that technique again without my supervision!"

"What's the big deal?" Ichiro growled as he made his way to the patio and sat down to nurse his hand. "It's just a little burn."

Dad sighed. "Ayame, go get the first aid kit, will you?"

"Um sure. Where's Mom though?"

"She went running again."

"Already? She should've told me. I would've gone with her."

Ichiro laughed. "Oh give it up Ayame. You know there's no way you could ever keep up with Mom."

"That's not true! I always keep up with her."

"Only because she waits for you."

"You take that back, Ichiro!"

"But it's true!"

"It is not! You're the one that's slow, not me!"

"Ayame!" My father shouted putting an end to our argument. "The first aid kit. Now."

"But I was just…"

"No buts, just get the first aid kit."

I snapped my mouth closed and spun around, walking straight for the kitchen. "Oh noooo," I muttered under my breath. "We can't say anything to hurt Ichiro's precious little ego after all." I sighed and grabbed the first aid kit from the top shelf. After retrieving the box, I took a deep breath to calm my anger and made my way back out to the patio. As soon as I left the kitchen I could hear my dad and Ichiro talking.

"But why can't I practice that technique?"

"Because your mother said no. Besides, even if you were to learn the Kachu Tenshin Amagurinkan, it wouldn't make you run faster."

He hung his head. "I know. It's just that..." he stopped as he noticed I had entered the room and abandoned whatever it was he was going to say. "Look, I don't care what Mom says. I want to learn that technique. Besides how am I supposed to get tougher if I never experience any pain?"

"I don't think it's the pain she's worried about. I think it has more to do with the fact that last time you did this you almost burnt down the whole house."

I tried not to laugh as I approached them. It was a rather funny memory, although the poor tree in our yard had still not grown back correctly.

Ichiro flushed bright red. "B-But that was a long time ago, and I…"

"Try three weeks ago," I mumbled under my breath as I plopped down beside him and began administering some ointment for his burns.

"What was that?" Ichiro growled. "OW!" he screamed as I rubbed the stinging medication on his hand.

"You're such a baby," I whined. "Anyway, Daddy, why don't you run along and take your bath while I finish this up and then you can teach me that new kata?"

"Oh, Ayame, I uh…"

"He can't. He already said he'd help train me."

"But Daddy, you promised!"

"I know Honey, I'm sorry. But Ichiro needs the training right now. You understand right?"

I sighed before turning back to Ichiro's injury. "Yeah. I understand."

"That's my girl. Tell you what, as soon as you get home from school today I'll teach you that kata, alright?"

"Okay," I said in a small voice. 

"Great. Now I'm going to go take a bath. I'll be back in a little bit." With that he disappeared around the corner leaving me alone with Ichiro.

"Why do you keep insisting on wasting his time like that?"

"I'm not wasting his time. I like martial arts. I'm serious about my training. However, no one else around here seems to take me seriously."

"You're only serious about your training until something more interesting comes along. Besides, when are you going to learn that you're not any good, Ayame?"

I glared at my brother as I tied the bandage around his hand as tightly as I possibly could causing him to yelp. "When are you going to learn not to insult the people that try to help you, hmm?" With that I stood up and stormed out of the room.

* * * *

"Stupid… Arrogant… Annoying… JERK!" I shouted as I mercilessly beat up the practice dummy in our yard. "Where does he get off insulting me like that? Who does he think he is anyway? So what if he's better than me? That doesn't give him the right to go around and tell me that I have no talent. Besides, if he didn't go and steal all of Dad's attention I'd be a lot better." As I continued to rant my anger grew, and I failed to notice how my attacks were growing more and more violent, escalating along with my temper. "He just makes me so mad! Just because he got beaten by some girl in a stupid race he expects all of us to drop everything and try to help him out, never even stopping to realize we may have our OWN problems to deal with. And why's he making such a big deal about Karou beating him anyway? He doesn't realize how lucky he is. Doesn't he know I'd kill for even half of his talent?" I finished the last sentence with a quick high side kick that ended up decapitating the poor dummy. I sighed in annoyance as I wiped the sweat off my brow. "Great, now I'm really in trouble."

"Ayame!" said a voice behind me. I turned around in surprise to see my mother. "Do you have any idea how expensive those things are?" she asked as she began to walk towards me.

"Sorry Mom," I mumbled. "Guess I got a little carried away."

A grin crept onto her face as she approached me. "I'm just kidding. Don't worry about it. You should have seen the amount of practice dummies I used to go through when I was your age."

"Really?"

"Yep. Practically ever time your Dad and I had a fight I'd come out her and beat up on one of our practice dummies. And believe me, that happened a lot."

"Oh," I said in an uninterested tone.

"Actually," she said with a frown. "I think I could use one right now."

"You still mad at Dad for setting Ichiro up on a date?"

"It's not just about the date Honey. It's the principle of the thing." Her forehead creased in annoyance and her frown deepened. "I mean first he asked me if we could arrange for Ichiro and Ryoga's daughter to be married, and then after I told him no…"

"Whoa, whoa, back up. Ichiro, and Karou… Engaged?" Somehow I found the thought of that incredibly amusing. 

"Yes, well, I objected of course."

"Oh, but please reconsider!"

"No, Ayame, I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's… Complicated. Maybe I'll explain it to you when you're older."

I looked at her in confusion and blinked. "What does this have to do with sex?"

"Excuse me?" She asked as a horrified expression crossed her face.

I sighed. "Well, every kid knows that whenever an adult says, 'I'll tell you when you're older' or something, it means that the subject has something to do with sex."

"Oh," she said simply. "I was unaware of that rule." There was a brief pause as she looked around awkwardly. "So anyway," she began abruptly as she went over to inspect the damage I had done to the dummy, casually changing the subject. "Care to tell me, what's bothering you?"

"It's nothing."

"This doesn't look like nothing," she said holding up the decapitated head of the dummy. "So who is it that you're so mad at? Some boy?"

"No, Ichiro."

She giggled. "Ah… I see."

"It's just not fair! How come Dad spends all his time training Ichiro and not me?"

"Well, Honey, Ichiro's a lot more serious about his training than you are…"

"That's not true! Why does everyone keep saying that? Just because I'm not as good as him doesn't mean I'm any less serious!"

Mom smiled slightly. "Honey, come now, you're not being honest. Remember when you were little, and you were convinced that all you wanted to be was a ballerina? Well, if I remember right, you spent all your time dancing and hardly trained at all for over a month until you decided you didn't like ballet and quit. Only then did you get back into practicing martial arts. And then in Junior High there were all kinds of sports to keep you occupied. First there was volleyball, and then there was soccer and then track…"

"But I was really good about practicing over the summer!"

"Well of course, because you were out of school and there were no sports to participate in. Now that you're back in school there's no telling how long it's going to be before your martial arts training begins to slacken."

I leaned up against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, well, maybe if Dad had expressed some concern that I wasn't practicing I wouldn't have done all those sports. When I told him I wanted to join the volleyball team all he said was 'That's nice, Honey,' but then when Ichiro wanted to join the Kendo club he had a fit!"

Mom giggled. "I think that had more to do with Ichiro's choice of sport than anything else. Your father doesn't have much respect for Kendo fighters. I bet he'd be just as upset if you asked him if you could do Rhythmic Gymnastics."

"Yeah right."

"No really, try asking him sometime."

"You're missing the point! Ichiro's better than me, that's why Dad favors him."

"Ah, Honey, I can see why you'd think that, but I really think you're overreacting a bit. If you want your dad to take you seriously you're just going to have to show him that you're serious about training."

I sighed, not quite convinced. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"I'll tell you what though, I'll talk to your father and Ichiro. Maybe then…"

"No, that's okay. I can handle it."

"Alright, if you say so. Oh, and Honey, try not to be too mad at Ichiro. He never really was the sensitive type, but I think this thing with that girl from school is really bothering him. I know it's a stretch but try putting yourself in Ichiro's place." She smiled at me once and then turned to make her way inside.

"Try putting myself in his place, huh?" I sighed as I stood and followed my mother inside. "At least then I'd be good."

* * * *

Akito Saotome was not pleased. He was a growing boy. He needed to eat real food, not a bunch of rice, a burnt fish and… He picked up his 'cooked' egg and held it sideways, tapping it on the table in order to prove his suspicion that it was rock solid. He sighed deeply. Not only was his meal inedible, but his older brother was trying to steal his girlfriend and Akito couldn't think of any other good pranks to play on him. Yep, there was no way around it. Akito was not pleased.

Ayame Saotome was not pleased either. Though her meal was slightly different from her younger brother's in the sense that her eggs were scrambled, and not sunny side up, they were of the same… Quality. That is to say, Ayame was not pleased about her meal. However, being slightly older than Akito, her additional issues in life were of a more sophisticated level. For instance, she had to think of a way to even the score with her big brother, and the best plan she could think of involved getting to the bottom of his relationship with Karou Hibiki. Surely once she figured out what was going on between them she could use the information to her advantage. Although she had no idea how she was going to go about getting such information. As if that weren't enough, she still had to figure out a way to get her parents to make up so that she didn't have to eat anymore of her mother's horrible anger induced meals. Oh, and the whole situation with her dad not training her was slightly dissatisfying as well. Needless to say, Ayame was not pleased.

Ichiro Saotome was especially not pleased. Not only had he been beaten by his ex-girlfriend at a track match, mocked by the entire student body plus his way too smug younger sister and then set up on a date with the same ex-girlfriend, but he had also burnt his hand, and sat on a bunch of tacks that his mischievous younger brother had placed in his seat. Not to mention that his meal was just as unsatisfactory as the rest of the family's. However, he was especially annoyed about this since his dad, Ayame and Akito had managed to steal all of the rice, the only decent part of the whole meal while he was finishing up his training, which by the way was not coming along at all. And the worst part of it all was that he had a sneaking suspicion that today was going to be much worse than yesterday. So Ichiro was definitely not pleased.

And it was for all of these reasons that Ranma Saotome found three pairs of unpleased eyes glaring at him from across the table. "What?" he asked sheepishly.

"Don't you 'what' us!" Ayame yelled, standing up from the table and pointing an accusing finger at her father. "This is all your fault!"

"Yeah!" Akito joined in. "You made Mom mad and now we're forced to deal with the consequences!"

"B-But I didn't do anything!" Ranma said as he slowly backed away from his two youngest children in fear. They definitely took after their mother. He immediately turned to Ichiro. "Come on Ichiro, back me up!"

"Don't look at me. I'm the one that you're forcing to take out that Hibiki brat."

"Hey! Don't talk that way about my Karou!" Akito quipped.

"What do you mean, '_my_ Karou'?" Ichiro yelled back. He couldn't help it. Akito acting all possessive of the girl that had been his girlfriend was starting to get on his nerves. "For your information…"

"Boys, boys, boys!" Ayame shouted as she held her two brothers apart so that a physical fight did not begin. "Now is not the time for such petty arguments! The way you carry on makes you look like a bunch of children."

"Yeah!" Ranma scolded, hoping to reclaim his role as the parent of the household. He soon realized his mistake as three pairs of unpleased eyes once again focused on him.

"And who are you to talk?" The three of them asked at the same time.

Ayame pointed her finger sternly towards the kitchen. "Now I want you to go in there right now and apologize, you got it?"

"But… But… I don't want to!"

"Too bad!" Ichiro said. "I can't go another day with these kinds of meals."

"If it helps you can always call the date off," Akito added hopefully. His attempts were only met by a glare from both Ranma and Ichiro. "Or not…"

"Fine! I'll go talk to her," Ranma growled as he made his way towards the kitchen like a man walking to his execution. 

Ayame and Ichiro shook their heads as they began to leave the room. "Parents these days…" The both mumbled as they made their way up the stairs to get ready for school.

Akito Saotome was already prepared to go to school. Therefore he had nothing to distract him from the fact that he was still hungry. And now bored. Plus he was still not pleased. With these motives he stood up and followed his father into the kitchen in search of some kind of snack to tide him over until lunch.

"But Akane, you said that I couldn't arrange for them to get married. You never said anything about me arranging for them to go on a date."

"I know what I said, Ranma. I said no. I made it perfectly clear that I did NOT want Ichiro to get involved with Ryoga's daughter. But you still went and set them up on a date without even asking me!"

"Well, if I had asked your permission would you have said yes?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Well then…"

"Ahem." Akito said casually. "Is lunch ready yet?"

Ranma and Akane jumped. "Oh, Honey, um, just a moment. I was just finishing up Ichiro's…" Akane trailed off as she looked down at the current bento she had been preparing. "Oh great, now look what you made me do!" she yelled at Ranma. "Ichiro can't eat this. He'll end up in the hospital again." She started to make her way towards the trash can but Ranma intercepted her.

"Hey," he said carefully taking the box from her and setting it on the table. "Calm down, okay? I'll just give Ichiro some extra money and he can buy his lunch, alright?"

"But…"

"Akane, relax, it's not a big deal. And I'm sorry. You're right, I should've talked to you about Ichiro and Karou."

"You really mean it?"

"Yeah. And if it means that much to you, after this Saturday I won't press things between them any farther."

"Can't you just call it off now?"

"That'd be an insult to Ryoga."

"So?" she growled.

"And to Karou, and to Ukyo. Just one little date. It couldn't hurt, could it?"

She sighed. "I guess not…"

"Excuse me!" Akito exclaimed loudly, interrupting his parents once again. "Can I PLEASE have my lunch now?"

"Alrigth," Akane sighed at her son's persistence. At least he had said please. "They're over there on the counter. Oh, and can you give Ayame hers as well?"

"Do I have to?"

"Oh," Ranma added. "And here's some money for Ichiro's lunch." 

Akito looked at the coins he was handed and smiled. "Okay. Sure, I'll take care of things."

"Thanks Dear," Akane said.

"So," Ranma said as he turned back to his wife. "Are we okay now?"

Akane sighed slightly. "You won't do anything like this again?"

"No."

"And it's just one date?"

"Just one date. I promise."

"Very well. You're forgiven then." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She turned back to the counter and stopped dead in her tracks. "Now wait a minute… Where did Ichiro's lunch go?"

* * * *

I sighed as I walked along my way to school, replaying the conversation with my mom over in my head. Maybe there was some truth to what she had said. Maybe I wasn't as serious about my training as I pretended to be. If I put more effort into it, could I be better? After all, Ichiro got up early every morning to train, he put his full effort into gym class, and trained as soon as he got home from school up until dinner. Even dinner was a speed exercise as he and Dad fought over their food. Even walking to school on the fence was an exercise in balance. 

I looked up at the fence. It didn't seem that hard really. I always had great balance, and even Ichiro seemed to think I could do it. I looked up and down the street. It didn't appear as if anyone was around, so there was no chance of anyone looking up my skirt. My mind made up, I carefully leapt onto the fence and immediately balanced myself on the top.

Once I thought I was steady enough I took a step forward. And another, and another… I grinned. Pretty soon I was walking along the fence at an even pace. "I can do it!" I exclaimed while picking up my pace even more. "I can actually… Whoa!"

In my excitement I had lost my balance and fought violently to regain it. After much flailing of my arms and weak screams I had finally found my footing again and was left to calm my heavy breathing. 

"Okay. So maybe I got a little carried away there. I mustn't get distracted. Right. Just pay attention…"

Suddenly there was a voice in my ear and breath on my neck. "Need some help?"

"Wah! I screamed loudly as I spun around smacking into the person behind me with my book bag.

"Hey! Ayame!" he shouted as he lost his balance and went hurtling to the ground along with my book bag, the contents of which spilled all over the pavement along with the contents from his own bag.

"I-Ichiro! Oh!" The luck that had somehow managed to keep me upright through the whole ordeal suddenly failed me as I leaned over to make sure he was alright and I found myself hurtling forward as well, landing hard on top of my older brother.

"Ouch," we both muttered after the inevitable crash.

"Ichiro, I'm so sor-…"

"Man, that really hurt! What's your problem you stupid klutz?"

My apology died on my lips and I narrowed my eyes. "How is this my fault?"

"Because you knocked me off the fence and then crushed me. Gees, how much do you weigh, anyway?"

I growled and pushed myself off of him, busily collecting all the items that had fallen out of my bag. Ichiro quickly regained his wits and began gathering up his things as well. "I wouldn't have hit you if you hadn't snuck up on me like that. You scared me, what was I supposed to do?"

"You're supposed to be more in control and aware of your surroundings."

"Well excuse me! I was too busy trying to concentrate on my balance, something you should probably get back to working on as well!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, just that a real martial artist would have been able to dodge my bag, and still manage to stay standing on the fence."

"Y-You caught me off guard!"

"Well same with me! I'm not any more to blame than you are." We were at a stalemate and stayed glaring at each other for a few moments before Ichiro rolled his eyes and tossed his hands up in the air in frustration. "So we're agreed," I said. "Now if you'll excuse me." Gathering up the last of the items that had spilled from my bag, I stood and began to storm off.

I heard a sigh from behind me and then in a reluctant voice he called after me. "Hey Ayame, wait up!"

"What for Ichiro, so you can insult me some more?"

"Ah come on, you're not still mad about this morning are you?"

"Take a good guess."

"Okay fine, you're right," he mumbled under his breath, and then in a lower voice, "I'm sorry."

I stopped abruptly and turned to stare at him in astonishment. "What?"

"I said I'm sorry okay? You know, for calling you a clumsy, untalented, uncute…"

"Uncute? You never called me uncute!"

"I didn't? Oh. I must've just thought it then…"

"Agh!" I growled before once again storming off. "If this is how you apologize than no thanks, I think I'll pass."

"Oh come on! Here I am, trying to be nice and you…"

"Wait a minute! Mom put you up to this didn't she?"

"What? Why in the world would…"

"I knew it! She said she wouldn't say anything but she did."

"Wait, you were talking to Mom about this?"

"Oh, as if you didn't know that already. I mean come on, why else would you apologize to me? It's not like the word 'sorry' is a common word in your vocabulary."

"You are the most aggravating girl in the world you know that? I can't even believe we're from the same family! Here I am, trying to apologize to you, and you turn around and act all suspicious and insult me by saying it's out of character and all. I try and do something nice and this is the thanks I get. Well you know what? Forget it. Apology withdrawn," he said as he jumped onto the fence and continued walking. 

I watched him in confusion for a few seconds. _'Did he really mean that?' _

"So you just apologized out of the goodness of your heart, hmm?"

"Maybe. Why's that so hard to believe?"

"I don't know. I guess it's not." There was a brief pause before I continued. I did feel a little bad for doubting him. And he was trying. The least I could do was be understanding. "Look, I-I know you didn't really mean it anyway. It's not me you're mad at. You're just picking on me because you can't seem to get the upper hand on someone else."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You tell me."

He groaned. "Oh great. Now we're playing guessing games."

"Something's bothering you. I can tell."

"There's nothing bothering me!"

"Does it have something to do with Karou?"

"No! It has nothing to do with Karou! Seriously, of all the things that could be wrong what in the world would make you assume it had anything to do with Karou?"

"Aha! So you admit it! There is something wrong!"

Ichiro sighed in annoyance. "You're a pest you know that?"

"I'm your sister; I'm supposed to annoy you. But I'm right, aren't I? You're upset about Karou."

"I already told you no!"

"Yeah, but you also told me that there was nothing wrong, so what makes you think I'm going to believe you now?"

"Oh please."

"Come on, admit it. She's totally getting to you, isn't she? And it's not just about the whole track match. There's something else going on here, isn't there?"

He sighed. "It's… Complicated."

"Well tell me!"

"It's none of your business!"

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'll just figure it out on my own. Complicated huh? Let's see, you asked her out and she said no, right?"

"How is that complicated?"

"Well, it would be for you, considering no one's ever turned you down before."

"Well it's not like I go around asking a bunch of girls out. They ask me out."

"But you have asked a girl out before right? And she turned you down, right?"

His slight hesitation confirmed my suspicions. I squealed in delight. "So I was right then, it was Karou."

"No! Like I said, it's more complicated than that."

"But it does have something to do with Karou and her rejecting you, right?"

"Ayame! Knock it off, okay? You're really making yourself out to be a pest today. I already told you, it's none of your business."

"Fine." We walked along in silence for a moment before I spoke up again. "You know, I like Karou."

"Oh my gosh! Do you ever shut up?"

"But it's true. I really like her."

"Figures. I guess someone has to."

"No really. She's different."

"Well, yeah I'll give you that one," he chuckled. "She's definitely weird."

"I didn't say that. What I meant is she's frank, she's real. She doesn't just tell you what you want to hear, she tells you what you need to know, but only as much as you can handle."

"Um, and you know this how? You've met her what, once?"

"Twice actually."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about you two at lunch yesterday," he said as his expression darkened.

"What?"

"You and Karou, in the lunch line. I heard the whole thing."

"You were eavesdropping?"

"NO! Gees, why does everyone think that?"

"Um, because you were listening in on a conversation that wasn't directed to you. By definition that's eavesdropping."

"But I wasn't doing it on purpose! Believe me, I couldn't care less about what you or Karou have to say about me."

"Then why are you upset about us talking?"

"I'm not!"

"Whatever. If you're not going to admit that it bothers you there's no point in me explaining the situation. Although I will tell you this. I know that something happened between you and Karou in the past, but she didn't beat you yesterday totally out of spite. She beat you in order to point out a flaw that you've been ignoring in your training. Quite ingenious and helpful of her in actuality. I think she just overestimated how much of the truth you could handle."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"The way you've been handling this whole thing is pathetic Ichiro, and you know it. You go around whining, pouting, and yelling at everyone trying to place the blame on someone else and expecting them to fix everything for you."

"Hey, I've been training really hard!"

"True, but answer me this. Are you doing it because you want to get back at her or because you want to be a better martial artist?" There was a brief gap of silence, and he didn't answer. "If it's taking you that long to respond it's because you know the truth and don't want to admit it. You're a martial artist. You shouldn't let your emotions control…" I trailed off as the pieces suddenly feel into place. "Emotions! Now I get it. It's because you love her, isn't it? You love her and you screwed up with her and now she hates you."

Even before I had finished the sentence he had jumped off the fence and landed in my path, glaring at me as I skidded to a halt in front of him. "Ayame," he said in a low, threatening voice. "If I want your opinion I'll ask for it. In the meantime, stay out of my business."

"I was just…"

"Ayame! I'm serious. Knock it off."

There was something about his expression that made my words die in my throat, and before I had a chance to regain my voice he had turned and started walking away, leaving me far behind.

"Scary!" I breathed. "I've never seen him so angry before! W-What was that all about anyway? I was just teasing him. There's no reason for him to get so upset about something like…" A smile began to spread across my face as realization began to dawn on me. "Unless I was right about him and Karou. Why else would he have gotten so mad? Man, this is good. I absolutely have to find out what happened between them…"

* * * *

I looked at the box in front of me suspiciously. It looked normal. It smelt normal. Yet that was not normal. Although Mom's cooking was… normally edible, it was NEVER normal in appearance or smell. When it did appear by all intensive purposes to be normal, chances were there was something terribly wrong with the meal and eating it would be detrimental to a person's health. I shivered as I picked up the box and made my way for the trash can. "And I almost ate it. Yeach. That could've been dangerous. I wonder what's up with Mom lately. I mean, I can understand her having one of her bad food relapses since she was so upset with Dad this morning, but usually she realizes when she's made a bad meal and just discards it…" 

I was about to dump the food in the garbage when I noticed the small carving on the edge of the box. "Huh. I must have picked up Ichiro's box by mistake when we dropped them on the way to school. Oh well…" I paused. "Wait a minute. This morning…"

_"Here's your lunches!" said Akito as he bounded up to us with our bentos._

_ "Thank you Akito," I said as I took the box from him. Meanwhile Ichiro looked at him suspiciously. _

_ "What are you being so nice for?"_

_ Akito frowned and looked at his feet in an ashamed manner. "I just wanted to say sorry for this morning."_

_ Ichiro still looked at him suspiciously but took the lunch anyway. "Um… Okay. Thanks."_

I grinned to myself. "Hmm… Now I get it. Akito must have gotten a hold of one of Mom's bad meals and given it to Ichiro." I held up the boxed lunch in front of me. "Well then, I can't very well let Akito's careful planning go to waste now can I?" I said as I walked towards Ichiro's class with a grin. "Besides! Akito would probably be upset with me if he found out that I spoiled things for him. And I definitely wouldn't want Akito to get mad at me! See! So I really have no choice! Yes indeed, no choice at all!" I continued to grin as I made my way to Ichiro's classroom, all too happy about the task I had been forced to perform.

* * * *

I poked my head through the doorway and began to look around the crowded classroom. It didn't take me long to spot my older brother. He was sitting at a desk with three boys crowded around him. Two of the boys appeared to be teasing him about something while the third guy simply stood by and watched with an amused grin. Ichiro looked as if he was trying really hard to ignore them. However, I doubted that he would be able to keep up his indifference for very long. 

Not wanting to be around when he finally lost his temper, I quickly made my way over to him and plopped the bento box down on his desk. "Here's your lunch," I said casually. Suddenly the room seemed to quiet down as numerous eyes turned their attention to me. I glanced around, slightly nervous and confused. No one had seemed to notice me when I had entered the room, but now…

Ichiro as well turned and looked at me, an expression of pure astonishment and horror evident on his face. "A-Ayame. What are you doing here?"

"Ayame?" The tallest of the boys that I had noticed earlier piped up suddenly. "Why so informal, Ichiro? What exactly is your relationship to this cute girl?"

"We uh, we uh, grew up together…" Ichiro stuttered lamely.

"Oh please," I said rolling my eyes ignoring the boy and the rest of Ichiro's class. "You're not still trying to keep our relationship a secret, are you?"

"You have a secret relationship with this girl?" said another one of the boys, this one short with round glasses. "No way!"

"Hey, you're a first year, aren't you?" said the first guy. "My name's Yuri Masada. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Ayame Sao…"

"Ayame!" Ichiro shouted. "A word please!" He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away from the group.

"Ow," I moaned as I ripped my arm away. "Not so rough. That hurt!"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was just bringing you your lunch. There was a mix up and our lunches got exchanged."

"I thought we'd agreed that we were going to pretend we didn't know each other."

"No, you agreed to that. I never said I was going to go along with it. Besides, it's not like I just stopped by for no reason. I actually had a legitimate reason for coming here."

"No you don't! You could've just as easily eaten my lunch."

"No I couldn't. The food's different."

"So? Would it have killed you to have eaten my lunch for just one day?"

I had to fight back a laugh there. Considering the quality of Ichiro's lunch the answer to his question could have very well been yes. "Gees, Ichiro, what's the big deal anyway? I'm not here to embarrass you. Besides, your friends seemed to like me…"

"Yeah, of course they like you. They're the biggest perverts in school. They like anything that's halfway decent looking and female. Just stay away from them okay?"

"You have no right to tell me who I can and can't talk to. Besides, I can take care of myself."

"Look, Ayame, I'm doing this for your own good. Do you have any idea what things would be like for you if everyone found out you were my sister?"

"Oh please. Don't tell me you're actually concerned about me?"

"I…"

"Hey Ichiro, no secret conversations. Come over here and introduce us to your friend!" said the taller of Ichiro's friends.

"Yeah!" said the shorter one.

"Listen you guys," Ichiro spat as he turned his back on me. "You so much as look at her the wrong way and I'll…" I smacked him on the back of his head. "Ow!" He spun around and glared at me. "What was that for?"

"I can take care of myself, Ichiro. Now, my lunch?"

"Fine," he growled as he made his way to his bag and pulled out my bento. 

"Now was that so hard?" I turned to the three boys and smiled. "Pleasure meeting you all." With that said I turned away, grinning as I noticed Ichiro opening his bento out of the corner of my eye. I walked towards the door proudly, ignoring all the curious looks of Ichiro's classmates. I was just about to leave when I noticed Karou Hibiki sitting by herself, her chin propped up on her hand as she stared out the window. Without the slightest hesitation I altered my course and quickly made my way over to her.

"Hey Karou! Mind if I sit here?"

Karou turned and faced me, a look of surprise on her face. When she recognized me a small smile appeared. "Sure," she said. "Just as long as you don't mind being shunned by all the second years."

I looked behind me at all the students, mostly female, who were now whispering fiercely and casting glares in our general direction. "Why are they acting like that? Is it because of the track match yesterday?"

She sighed and leaned back in her seat. "No, it's been this way since last year."

"Really? Is it that hard being a transfer student?"

"Not really. This has nothing to do with that. There was an… incident last year."

"Oh. Did it have something to do with Ichiro?"

She nodded, a far off look in her eye that made her appear unbelievably sad. She didn't even try to hide the pain within those deep blue eyes. 

"Karou… About that…"

"Hi!" said a voice coming up from behind me. 

I turned around and looked at the boy that had spoken. "Oh. Hi. It's Masada-sempai, right?"

"You remembered! I'm so happy! But please, call me Yuri."

I couldn't help but notice as Karou rolled her eyes.

"And yours is Ayame right? Sorry, you never really got around to introducing yourself, but that's what Ichiro called you so I figured…"

"Well, yes, that's right. I'm Ayame," I said, slightly uncomfortable about the informality. Still, I decided to let it slide. Maybe things would be better if people didn't know my last name, and it would be awkward to correct him at that point.

"It's a pleasure Ayame," he said with a smile that was meant to appear overly charming. It was accompanied by another eye roll from Karou. "So Ayame, tell me, would you be interested in going out with me sometime?"

I raised my eyebrow but didn't say anything right away. _'He sure doesn't waste any time, does he?' _I asked myself. Fortunately I was anything but naive. The fact that Yuri was so at ease with asking out a girl he had met less than five minutes ago without so much as stuttering set off a few red flags in my mind. Yuri was attractive, and he knew it. You could tell by the way his hair had been meticulously styled, and the way he smiled just the right way to show of his best features. He was confident. He knew what he was doing. That meant he had a lot of experiences with girls, and that of course meant he was a player, not the type I wanted to get involved with. A glance at Karou who was shaking her head vigorously confirmed my suspicions. I stifled a laugh the best I could. "Um, sorry, Mas- um Yuri, but we just met, and I…"

"There's someone else, isn't there?"

I paused slightly taken aback. He wasn't just a player, but an overly dramatic one at that. "Well, not really, but…"

"It's Ichiro, isn't it? You're in love with him aren't you?"

It was then that Karou began to giggle fiercely. "Karou!" I scolded slightly.

"I can't help it," she gasped in between laughs. "It's just so funny!" She stopped laughing abruptly. "Oh great, don't look now but here comes your stupid older brother."

My eyes grew wide. Even though it had been Ichiro's idea to keep the fact that we were related a secret, I couldn't help but agree with it. I didn't want everyone to know he was my brother either. All I could do was hope no one had heard.

"Huh?" Yuri asked. "You have an older brother in this class? Who is it Ayame?"

"Hey Yuri!" Ichiro shouted as he approached us. "I thought I told you to stay away from her."

Yuri didn't seem very intimidated. He looked between Ichiro and me, and then a grin began to spread across his face as he made the connection. "Wait a minute. Don't tell me… Ichiro's your brother?"

Before I could answer Ichiro turned and shouted at me. "I thought I told you not to tell anyone!"

"I didn't!" I exclaimed.

"Then who…" His attention once again shifted and he found himself glaring at Karou. "You!"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Why'd you have to go and tell everyone that Ayame's my little sister?" he shouted. Suddenly the rest of the room focused all of their attention on the three of us.

"Did you hear that?" someone asked.

"Yeah, that girl that brought Ichiro his lunch is his sister."

"Wow! I never thought about it, Ichiro having a sister. I wonder if he has any brothers."

Karou began to laugh. "I didn't tell everyone. I just told Yuri. You're the one that told the whole class."

Ichiro looked around the room like a man hunted, watching in horror as the word quickly spread throughout the classroom. He then clenched his fists and began to growl at Karou. "Now look what you've done!"

"I didn't do anything. Besides, how was I supposed to know you were keeping it a secret?"

"You just should have."

"Oh please. I don't see what you're upset about anyway. Ayame's the one that should be embarrassed about being related to a stupid jock like you."

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me! I called you a stupid jock!"

"Yeah, well you're a frigid geek."

"Yeah a frigid geek that beat you in a track match," she laughed.

"Yeah that's right, laugh about it now. But I don't think you'll find it that funny this afternoon when you're eating my dust."

"Was that a challenge?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that not clear enough? You need me to spell it out to you? Fine, I…" He stopped suddenly and grabbed his stomach. "Owww. I don't feel so good."

It was my turn to try not to laugh. "Oh please," Karou quipped. "Don't tell me you're that afraid to race me that you're going to fake an illness."

"Hey! I'm not…" He didn't get to finish his sentence as his eyes suddenly went huge and he made a mad dash for the door.

Everyone watched the place where he left the room in surprise. "What was that all about?" Yuri finally asked.

"Yeah, what happened Ayame?" Karou asked.

I managed to stop laughing long enough to answer her. "Don't worry, it's just a bit of food poisoning."

"Food poisoning?" she exclaimed. "Are you sure he's alright?"

I looked at her in confusion. She actually sounded worried. "Don't worry. He's built up a tolerance to my mom's bad cooking over the years. In a few hours he'll be fine, although I doubt you guys will be having your little race today. But I wouldn't have given him that bad lunch if I thought it would have seriously harmed him."

"Wait, you mean you're responsible for his getting sick?"

I nodded cautiously. "Well, sort of…" 

Karou began to laugh as well. "You know, I think I'm beginning to like you more and more each day.

* * * *

I kicked at a stone and sighed as I made my way home from school. Lunch had been... interesting. Eventually Karou and I were able to get Yuri to leave us alone, and we spent the rest of the lunch break talking about random things. Karou was a nice girl. Too nice. When I sat down with her, I had wanted to ask her about her relationship with Ichiro. Yet somehow I couldn't. It just didn't seem right. "So how am I supposed to find out what happened between them? Ichiro won't tell me, and I can't ask Karou… Why do I even care so much? I've never been really big on gossip or anything, and it really isn't any of my business." I sighed again. It was nice to have something to bother Ichiro about. After all, he was always giving me a hard time. But this was different. Somehow, picking on him about Karou seemed wrong. He liked her. It was obvious. "Poor Ichiro," I whispered. "If only…" I trailed off and blinked in surprise. 'Poor Ichiro?' Where had that come from? I didn't actually care… Did I?

"They're perfect for each other, aren't they?" I jumped and spun around to face the boy that had addressed me. He was medium height, dark and fairly handsome with a strange air of cynicism around him. It put me slightly on edge.

"Excuse me?" I asked, trying to sound calm.

"Karou and Ichiro. Too bad things turned out the way they did." 

I blinked. How did he know what I was thinking? Who was this guy? "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

He smirked, an action that made me even more uneasy. "Miro Yanaka. Pleased to meet you Ayame Saotome."

"How did you…?"

"I'm a friend of your brother's."

"Oh! That's right. I recognize you from lunch."

"You remember me. I'm so glad." I inwardly shivered. It was almost the exact same thing that Yuri had said earlier, but somehow it seemed different when Miro said it. 

_'He's just trying to intimidate you, Ayame. Don't let him get to you…'_ I told myself.

I smiled brightly. "Well, anyway, it was nice meeting you but I should get going. Good day." I turned and began to walk away but was brought to a halt by his words.

"Aren't you curious? About what happened between Ichiro and Karou?"

I paused. "Possibly."

"I could tell you. After all, I was the one that talked Ichiro into asking her out in the first place. I know everything that happened between them."

"So he did ask her out?" I spun around in excitement to face him momentarily forgetting my aversion to the boy.

He smiled and nodded once. "How about we go get something to eat, and I'll tell you all about their relationship?"

I frowned. "And what's in it for you?"

"Nothing more than the pleasure of your company."

I took a deep breath, my better judgment telling me I should get as far away from the boy as possible. Still, I found it difficult to suppress the urge to agree to his request. I wanted to know. But was it really worth going out with such a creep?

"Actually I…"

"Ayame!" I looked up at my name just in time to see Ichiro running towards us on the fence. He jumped off the fence once he reached us, landing in front of me facing Miro. "I thought I told you guys to stay away from my sister," he said addressing Miro.

"Don't act like an idiot Saotome. We were just talking. No harm in that. Besides, being overprotective of your little sister doesn't really suit your style."

"As if I care," Ichiro said in a low voice.

Miro shrugged and looked past Ichiro, smiling at me once again. "It was a pleasure talking with you Ayame. Think about my offer, will you?"

"Sure…" I muttered.

"Good. Well then, see you later Ayame, Ichiro." We watched as he turned and began to walk away slowly.

"Weird guy," I muttered under my breath once he was out of hearing range.

"Tell me about it," Ichiro echoed.

"Oh hey, Ichiro? By the way…"

"Huh?" he mumbled tilting his head slightly to look at me.

"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again!" I said, hitting him with my bag to annunciate each word.

"Ow!" he groaned, raising his forearm to block my attacks. "Cut it out! I was just trying to help. You don't know Miro like I do. He's a real…"

"Creep? Yes, Ichiro, I figured that out. I'm not stupid you know. And I can take care of myself," I said as I turned and began to walk away.

"Look," he said, following me towards our house. "Yeah, Miro's a creep, but that's not all. Despite the fact that everyone feels uncomfortable around him, he still has this way of manipulating you into doing exactly what he wants. He's able to get information from you and use you for whatever purpose without you even realizing it. I just thought you should know that. Being careful around Miro in itself just isn't enough. You really should just stay away from him."

"Warning noted," I said in a cold voice. "Stupid brother, thinks he knows it all…" I mumbled under my breath in English so that he wouldn't understand me.

"Stubborn, ungrateful, temperamental, uncute…" he responded in English, trailing off as he noticed me staring at him. "What?" he continued, still in English. "You started it!"

"Since when do you speak English?" I asked, switching back to Japanese since I was more comfortable with it.

"Since always," he responded, still using his English. "I mean it's a required course in school. Why wouldn't I know how to speak English?"

I blinked at him. I had no clue as to what he had just said. It was all spoken so quickly, and he was using words I had never heard before. He obviously picked up on the fact that I hadn't understood him, because he translated the sentence for me. "Yes, I speak English. After all it is a required course in school."

"Well yeah, but you're actually good at it! You're not good at anything in school."

He glared at me. "Gee, thanks."

"Sorry, but it's true! You just don't care that much about grades or anything, so how is it that your English is better than mine?"

He twitched slightly, growing nervous suddenly. "I listen to a lot of English music," he said before jumping up onto the fence and quickening his pace.

"Oh come on Ichiro, I'm not stupid. There's no way you could learn English that well from some silly tunes."

"Drop it Ayame," he said in a firm voice.

"But I just…"

"I said drop it," he said even more sternly.

"Fine. Hey, do you know any Chinese?"

"No."

"Good." I didn't know that much either, but I knew just enough. "Stupid, selfish, mean…" I began with the little Mandarin I actually knew.

"Oh my gosh!" Ichiro growled. "Do you just live to annoy me or what? You know I still haven't forgiven you for giving me that lunch," he said clutching his stomach at the memory.

"Oh, that wasn't me," I smiled innocently. "That was Akito's doing. I just switched our lunches back."

Ichiro's eyes narrowed to slits. "That little brat. I'm going to kill him when I get home. What's his problem lately anyway? It's not like I actually like that stupid Karou or anything."

"Miro said you asked her out last year."

I watched in amusement as Ichiro turned bright red. "T-Th- That is…"

I giggled as we turned the corner, our house coming into view. "I knew it," I called, racing ahead. "You really do like her, don't you?"

"I do not," he shouted, jumping down and running after me. 

"Ichiro likes Karou Hibiki," I said in a sing song voice as I ran through the gate.

"I do not!" Ichiro yelled from behind me. "Take it ba-" There was a sudden splash and I turned around in surprise to see a dripping wet Ichiro standing frozen in shock directly below the gate.

"What the…" I trailed off and looked up at the sound of giggling. "Akito!"

The boy continued to giggle. "Hey Ayame. How was your day?" 

"A-ki-to…" Came a low growl from Ichiro.

"Oops. Got to go. Later!" Akito immediately took off along the fence, Ichiro close behind him.

"Get back here you little brat!" he shouted as he took off after the younger boy.

I watched them disappearing into the distance laughing lightly to myself. "Well that was a pleasant end to a long day," I said as I spun around and jogged lightly into the house. "I'm home," I called, quickly slipping off my shoes.

"Oh, Ayame," Mom's voice came from the kitchen. "Call Minami back. She's called you twice already this afternoon."

I gasped in horror. "Oh that's right! I completely forgot to call her back last night." I rushed over to the phone and dialed the number quickly. It had hardly rung once before Minami picked up, her irritated voice sounding on the other end of the line.

"It's about time! Where have you been, Ayame?"

"Mi-Minami? How'd you know it was me?"

"Who else calls here?" she asked, the irritation easing out of her voice.

"True." I stated. "Look, Minami, I'm sorry I didn't call you back last night. You wouldn't believe what happened! That girl I was telling you about… Karou Hibiki? Well she and her father came over for dinner, and she and Ichiro fought the whole evening… They seem to really hate each other, but I don't know, I think Ichiro actually likes her…"

Minami giggled on the other end of the phone. "I wouldn't be surprised, considering what happened last year."

"What are you talking about?"

Minami sighed. "Last year… Honestly Ayame, I know you and Ichiro aren't that close, but I can't believe you didn't know he had a girlfriend."

"So it's true then!?"

"Of course it's true. According to my sources, Ichiro and one Karou Hibiki went out for a little less than a month last March."

"Really?" I asked in surprise. To say I was impressed would have been an understatement. Sure, I knew Minami was going to dig up what information she could on Karou, but I didn't think she'd find much. I had assumed Minami's 'connections' consisted of a few girls at her school and from her neighborhood. To dig up information on Karou and Ichiro, she would need to know someone that went to Furinkan last year, and that seemed doubtful to me. Then again, maybe I had underestimated my best friend. After all, she was Nabiki's only daughter... "So then what happened, do you know the details?" 

"Do I know the details?" Ayame clucked her tongue in a disapproving manner and I could visualize exactly how she must have been shaking her head from side to side in shame. "Oh ye of little faith," she droned in an overly dramatic tone. She was toying with me now. I hated it when she did that. It happened every time without fail. Whenever she gets a piece of information that someone wants she milks it for all it's worth. Fortunately I'm her best friend so the most she ever does is taunt me for a little while. "Of course I have the details. Although since you doubted me, I'm not sure if I should share them with you…"

"Minami," I whined. "Come on! I'm dying here!"

She giggled on the other end of the line, dropping her act. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you! I've been dying to tell you about this since yesterday anyway. Make yourself comfortable girl, you're in for quite a tale..."

* * * *

AN: Ah! So it's been a while since I've updated. That's school for you though. Anyway, sorry if this chapter was a little uninteresting. The stories going to pick up from here on out. 

** Pictures:** If you haven't been to my website before you may want to go check it out. I have quite a few pictures of the _Eighteen Years _ characters, including a fairly new one of Karou and Ichiro. Ah, they're so cute! Lol. Anyway, check it out!

** Coming Soon:** Chapter 6 - Minami's Tale - Ichiro and Karou's Story. In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is going to be a flash back to the previous year. By the way, when I say 'last year' in the story I really mean the last school year, right before summer. So in truth it hasn't been that long since Ichiro and Karou dated. Just a few months really. Anyway, in the next chapter you're finally going to see what happened between Ichiro and Karou! Yea! I have a lot of this written already, but with school I doubt I'll update for a while. Gomen. In the meantime be patient please, it'll be worth it. I hope. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. I may be inclined to work faster! ;-) Ja ne!


	6. Ichiro and Karou's Story Part 1

Chapter 6: Minami's Tale - Ichiro and Karou's Story Part 1

A/N: The long awaited flashback sequence regarding Ichiro and Karou! Hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. :-) Obviously I do not own the original Ranma 1/2 storyline or its characters, but I do take credit for their offspring! Hmm, that sounds a little weird, huh? Oh well, you know what I mean! Enjoy!

* * * *

"It all started on a Wednesday. Strange, considering nothing interesting ever happens on a Wednesday. Well, at least not until this Wednesday…"

"Minami!"

"What?"

"You're rambling! Get to the point!"

"I was setting the scene!"

"How hard can that be? This is Ichiro we're talking about."

"Look, are you going to tell this story or should I? Because last time I checked, I was the one with all the juicy details."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry okay? But just… Hurry and get to the good stuff, alright?"

"Fine, fine, I'll hurry it along. But you have to promise, no more interruptions!"

"Alright. My lips are sealed."

"Good, now where was I?"

"It was a Wednesday?"

"Oh yes of course. So anyway, as I was saying…"

It was just like any other long boring day at school that Ichiro couldn't wait to be finished with. He was sitting at his desk flipping through a manga, waiting for the next class to start when his friend Koji plopped down in the seat next to him with a dramatic sigh.

"Man, that girl is just so cruel. Say Yuri? Why is it that the really hot ones are always the coldest?"

"Let me guess, Karou turned you down again?" Ichiro's other friend Yuri asked.

"Yeah, that's the third time this month she's said no. Seriously, she can't be busy every Friday, can she?'

"A girl like that? I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if she was out every night," Yuri continued.

"Doubtful," Miro said in an unenthusiastic tone. "Since she's transferred here she's been asked out by nearly every boy in our class, and has yet to say yes to any of them."

"Do you think," Koji started skeptically. "Do you think maybe she's a lesbian?"

"No way man!" Yuri whined. "Tell me it's not true? Karou? It'd be such a waste!"

"She's not," Miro said, placating the boy's fears. "Akiko Hashida asked her out last week. Karou told her she wasn't interested in girls."

"Or guys for that matter," Koji sighed. "It's still such a waste of a beautiful girl."

"What do you think, Saotome?" Miro asked abruptly.

"About what?" Ichiro asked without looking up, trying to feign disinterest.

"Oh don't pretend like you haven't been listening. You haven't turned the page in that stupid manga for nearly five minutes."

Ichiro flushed and set his jaw, overemphasizing the act of turning the page. "Okay so who's Karou anyway?"

"Karou Hibiki," Yuri clarified. "You know, the new girl that transferred into our class last month?"

"The smart chick?" Ichiro asked looking around the room for the girl they were talking about. He spotted her towards the front of the class seated by the window, her nose buried in a book. She had long, dark brown hair, light skin and an incredible figure. "Eh," Ichiro said before going back to his reading. "She's okay."

"Okay?" Koji and Yuri chorused in disbelief.

"What are you nuts?" Yuri finished.

"Yeah," Koji continued. "She's absolutely gorgeous!"

"He's just afraid," Miro stated simply.

Ichiro scoffed and looked up from his manga again. "Excuse me?"

"It's obvious. Of all the girls in our school, Karou's the only one you can't have. If you were to ask her out, and she said no, your reputation would be ruined."

"He's right, man," Yuri began. "I wouldn't risk it. I mean you're cool and all and you could practically have any girl in the whole school, but not Karou. She's in a league of her own, and you my friend do not even come close to her level."

"You have got to be kidding me. If I wanted to go out with Karou I could, and you know it."

Miro grinned evilly. "Prove it."

"Huh?"  
"I bet you 5,000 yen you can't get Karou Hibiki to go out with you."

Ichiro froze and glared back at Miro. _'Ah, shoot,'_ he thought to himself. _'I walked right into that one. When am I going to learn to stop letting him bait me like that? Not that I can't handle it, but...'_

"Ichiro, don't do it," Koji said.

"Yeah man, you don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

Ichiro ignored them. He knew too well that he couldn't back down now. "What are the terms?" he asked Miro.

Miro immediately fell into his business mode, quickly laying down the rules. "You have one month to get her to go out with you. You can't tell her about the bet, or bribe her into going out with you in any way. If by some chance you do get her to say yes, you have to actually take her out. You can't just collect the moment she agrees."

Ichiro groaned realizing he actually had to go out with the stupid girl now. The whole situation was getting worse by the minute. "Fine, but you have to pay for the date as well."

Miro smirked. "Sure. Provided you actually get her to say yes."

"Oh I will. Don't worry about that." Ichiro put out his hand. "Deal?"  
Miro immediately took his hand. "Deal." Just then the bell rang and the students began to make their way back to their assigned seats. "Oh and one more thing, Ichiro. If by chance you fall for her, then I get to tell her about the bet. And you get absolutely nothing."

"You can't add new rules now. We already shook on it!"

"Oh so it's an issue then? You actually think you might fall for her?"

"No!" Ichiro answered abruptly.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Ichiro glared at him for a long time before responding. "Fine," he said with a shrug before settling back into his seat and tossing his manga in his bag.

"Good afternoon, class," said the teacher as she entered the room. "I have your exams from last week to pass back." she pulled out a stack of papers from her briefcase and then began passing them around. Meanwhile Ichiro sighed and fell into his own thoughts.

Curiously he glanced over at Karou Hibiki, who was eagerly waiting to receive her test. _'This is useless. What could the two of us possibly have in common? She's into school, I'm into sports…' _He sighed and continued to watch Karou as she received her test. Her brow immediately creased in confusion and she began to examine the paper closer. The braid on the left side of her head fell down from behind her ear and she distractedly pushed it back without any hesitation, only to have it fall forward again. She then pulled it away from her face and began to twirl it idly between her fingers. Suddenly she stopped and turned to look straight at Ichiro. He hadn't even realized he'd been staring until she looked up at him. She didn't look away, just continued to stare right back at him. Ichiro froze. He hadn't noticed the color of her eyes before. They were blue, something that was definitely rare in Japan. But beyond that they seemed to hold an intensity of a magnitude of stories and experiences, hidden expressions… And a beauty that seemed almost impossible to possess. Was this the reason all of his classmates had fallen so desperately in love with her? He mentally kicked himself, and dragged himself back to his senses. She was still staring at him. Feeling a little awkward he smiled at her in what he hoped was a friendly manner. She looked a little confused at first but then gave a weak little smile and head nod before turning back to her paper.

Ichiro blinked in surprise. _'Well that wasn't so hard. At least she smiled back. And I wasn't even trying that hard. Heh. And to think I was all worked up over nothing. Who cares if we don't have anything in common? That never stopped all the other girls from being interested in me. Why would Karou be any different? Out of my league, huh? Yeah right.' _He pulled out a piece of paper from his notebook and stared at it trying to figure out what to write. _'Um… 'Karou will you go out with me?' Nah, too plain. 'Please go out with me?' Um, too desperate…'_

Meanwhile Karou was having a dilemma of her own. "Excuse me, Umeda-sensei? Why did you mark this one incorrect?"

The teacher made her way over to Karou's desk. "Ah, yes of course. You confused your affirmatives with your negatives. The question should have been 'Don't you want some coffee?' and the answer should have been, 'Yes, I don't.'"

"No," Karou said. "I mean that works, but it's more confusing. In Japanese we ask things that way, but in English they ask 'Do you want something,' and respond 'Yes I do,' for the affirmative and 'No I don't,' for the negative."

The teacher furrowed her brow, slightly confused. "Hmmm. I'm not sure…" She looked around at the rest of her students. "Come talk to me after class, alright? We need to get started now."

"But…" Karou was cut off as the teacher walked away. She sighed in frustration and slouched in her chair. Just then a note landed on her desk. She blinked at it in confusion and then began looking around the room to see who it was from. Her eyes fell on Ichiro Saotome, who was looking over at her. He smiled at her in a way that she assumed was supposed to look charming. However, she found it to be anything but charming. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and frowned. _'Why that arrogant… Who does he think he is?'_ she asked herself as she purposely took the note and crumpled it up, dropping it into her bag to be discarded later. _'Please. I'm not like the rest of the girls in our class. I'm not going to go all crazy over some cute guy just because he's popular, good in sports and has a nice smile…'_ She shook her head. _'Nice smile? Where did that come from? Besides, this is Ichiro Saotome we're talking about. He's the shallowest guy in our class and a conceited player. There's nothing 'nice' about him, physically or otherwise.'_ She let those thoughts be her last on the issue and focused her attention back on the teacher.

Meanwhile Ichiro gaped at her in open mouth astonishment. _'Sh-She… I can't believe she just crumpled up my note without even reading it! And what was with that look? Jeez! Koji was right. She really is cold! _

* * * *

As soon as the class ended Ichiro jumped to his feet, determined as he made his way over to Karou's seat.

"Hey Karou," he said as he approached her. "I was wo…"

She looked up at him briefly in an irritated manner. "Hibiki," she said sharply as she turned back to her desk where she was in the middle of sorting through her class notes.

"Wh-What?"

"My surname is Hibiki. You shouldn't refer to me so informally, Saotome," she said fixing him with a stern look as she said his name.

Ichiro stuttered lamely for a moment. He couldn't believe she'd spoken to him so sharply. _'Who does she think she is anyway?' _he asked himself. Nearby a few guys began to snicker, having overheard the exchange. Ichiro glared at the boys and then made his way to the vacant chair in front of Karou's desk so that he could speak to her without the rest of the class listening in on his conversation. He straddled the chair so that he was facing her and rested his arms on the top of her desk, leaning forward to speak to her. "Oh, sorry Hibiki-san. I didn't mean to be rude. I was just trying to be friendly," he smiled, not his so called charming grin, but a more genuine, polite smile.

She blinked at him, her expression softening ever so slightly. "Apology accepted," she said in a voice which was still stiff, but no longer dripping with venom. She then seemed to reconsider her earlier callousness and after a moment's hesitation began to explain her behavior. "It's just that I…" Her eyes suddenly darted to the side and she jumped out of her seat. "Wait, Umeda-sensei!" she said, grabbing her test from earlier and rushing towards the front of the room where the teacher was already making her way for the door.

"Oh, Karou," the teacher said. "I'm sorry, I have to go to my next class. We'll discuss your test at a later date," she called over her shoulder as she disappeared out the door.

"But I…" Karou sighed. It was too late. She grudgingly made her way back to her desk and plopped back down in her chair pulling out an English dictionary in hopes of confirming her suspicion that she had been correct on the test.

Meanwhile Ichiro sat there, mouth agape. First she had walked away in the middle of their conversation, and then she had simply sat back down and gone right to her book as if he wasn't even there. Ichiro fidgeted slightly, unsure of what to do next. He wasn't used to people ignoring him. "So um, Kar- er, Hibiki-san, I was wondering if maybe yo…"

She looked up briefly and uttered a quick response. "Sorry, Saotome, I'm not interested." She immediately went back to her book.

Once again Ichiro found himself stuttering, at a loss for words. "B-But I…"

"Mr. Saotome!" came a booming voice from the front of the class.

Ichiro spun around in the seat to face the teacher. "Y-Yes Sensei?"

"The rest of the class has been waiting for you patiently. Would you please stop flirting with Miss Hibiki and take your seat?"

Ichiro flushed a deep shade of crimson and swallowed hard. "Yes sir," he said as he quickly made his way back to his desk, trying to ignore the snickers coming from his classmates.

"Smooth," Miro said, leaning back in his chair to address Ichiro.

"Shut up Miro," Ichiro growled. He then cast a glare over to where Karou was sitting, her hand propped up by the side of her face so that she could hide a small smirk. _'Okay, that's it. Now it's personal. Koji's right, she really is cold. Bet or no bet, this girl's beginning to get on my nerves. I will get back at her for this if it's the last thing I do…'_

* * * *

"Karou! Wait up!" Ichiro shouted down the hall.

She sighed as he jogged to catch up to her, though she continued walking. As soon as he came into hearing distance she began to speak without even bothering to turn around. "You really don't know when to give up, do you Saotome?" she asked, stressing the formality of the name.

"Look," Ichiro growled, stepping in front of her so that she was forced to stop. "I don't really appreciate the way you've been acting. I've been trying to be nice to you, and you don't even have the decency to let me finish one sentence!"

Karou glared up at him, not the least bit intimidated. She wasn't stupid. The guys at Furinkan didn't want to be nice to her. They didn't want to talk to her. They didn't want to get to know her. They wanted to ask her out. And why? Because they were attracted to her. They didn't care about her personality, or whether or not she was a nice girl. They didn't even bother to consider whether or not they had anything in common with her. All they thought about was how good she would look hanging on their arm for a night. Still, at least their interest in her was genuine. She didn't really understand what Ichiro was trying to prove by asking her out. She was sure it didn't have anything to do with him liking her. After all, he practically had the entire female population after him. Why would a guy with so many admirers choose to take interest in one girl in particular? Karou decided she didn't really want to know the answer to that question.

"Look, Ichiro, I understand how having girls asking you out day by day might give you a bit of an inflated ego, so this must be difficult for you to grasp. But… I'm simply not interested. In you. At all. Now if you'll excuse me," she said as she stepped around him and continued walking.

"You're saying I have an ego? Ha! Look who's talking. You're the one that automatically assumed I was asking you out."

She narrowed her eyes and stopped walking, spinning around to face him. "I'm sorry Ichiro," she said in a sarcastic tone. "You're right. I shouldn't jump to conclusions like that. Now what were you going to ask me?"

Ichiro froze. He hadn't thought that far ahead. "I was uh… Just going to ask you if…" Karou suddenly looked past him.

"Umeda-sensei!" she called as she rushed past Ichiro.

Ichiro turned to look as she ran past him, in astonishment. _'I can't believe it! That's the second time she's done that to me today! Why won't she take me seriously?'_

"Oh, Hibiki-san. Good I was looking for you," the teacher said as Karou approached. She took the test that Karou held in her hand and began to flip through it as she spoke. "I was thinking about what we had discussed, so I decided to do a little research, and it turns out you were right about the test." She scribbled something on the paper and handed it back to Karou with a smile. "Have a nice day, Hibiki-san."

Karou immediately glanced down at the test as the teacher walked by slowing as she approached Ichiro. "Ah, Saotome-san. Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Sensei," Ichiro mumbled. He didn't really enjoy socializing with teachers.

"You know I was very disappointed in your score on the last test."

"Yeah well, English isn't really my best subject."

The teacher glanced back over her shoulder at Karou. "You should get your friend to help you out then. She's very good with the language, and I think she's studying to be an English teacher. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to tutor you for a while."

A smile broke out on Ichiro's face. He finally had a plan. "Thanks Umeda-sensei. I think I'll do that."

"Wonderful! I'll be looking forward to seeing your next test," she said as she began to walk away.

Meanwhile Karou had finished reading over what the teacher had written on her paper and spun around with a smile on her face, only to have it disappear when she saw Ichiro. "Oh come on, are you still here?"

Ichiro merely shook his head with a sigh as he reached into his notebook pulling out his test. "Here," he said as he handed her the paper.

She looked at the paper briefly and smirked. "I don't think this grade is anything to be proud of, Saotome-san," she said.

"I know that," he snapped and then pointed to her test. "Apparently you know this stuff a little better than me. After all, you did get a perfect score. That's why I wanted to talk to you. I was hoping that maybe you'd tutor me for a little while."

She looked up at him, and blinked in surprise. "Oh…" she stuttered lamely.

Ichiro smirked. Finally he had the upper hand. Karou appeared more than a little embarrassed at the way she had previously acted.

"Wait a minute," she said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "You don't exactly strike me as the kind of guy that cares about grades."

"Hey, that's hardly fair!"

She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Okay, okay," he admitted. "Here's the deal. My parents got really upset about the last test I brought home. My dad threatened to not train me any more in martial arts until my grades actually went up. Fortunately, my training is just as important to my dad as it is to me, so he hasn't made good on that threat yet, but once they see this…" he held up the paper. "I doubt they'll be so forgiving. However, if I tell them I've got a tutor and am actually going to try to do better, they might go a little easier on me."

"You really are devoted to martial arts aren't you?"

"Of course! You don't get to be the best without practicing really hard."

Karou rolled her eyes and laughed lightly, no longer with the traces of annoyance in her voice. "You can apply that rule to school too you know."

"I doubt that," Ichiro muttered under his breath. Karou looked at him curiously but he quickly cut her off before she could venture another question. "So um… What do you say? Think you could tutor me for a little while?"

Karou paused to consider for a moment. She had always been a good judge of character, but Ichiro was proving to be a bit of an enigma to her. On the surface it was easy to assume he was conceited and a major player, but on closer examination she wasn't so sure. After all, once she thought about it she realized she'd never really seen him do anything to encourage a girl's advances. In truth he kind of reminded her of herself. She wondered if he thought being asked out all the time was as annoying as she did. Yet he was still cocky, and she had been sure he had been trying to ask her out. But then, she supposed it was possible she had been wrong. If anything it would be worth tutoring him just so she could figure him out. "Alright," she finally said. "I'll help you study for the next test."

"Really?" Ichiro asked, his eyes lighting up in excitement. "That's great! Thank you!"

"Sure," she said, confused by the fact that she found his happiness slightly contagious. "Meet me in the library tomorrow after school." she paused. "That is, if it's okay with you." she added as an afterthought. She hadn't originally intended to give him a choice in the matter.

"Sounds good to me," he answered automatically.

"Alright," she smiled and laughed slightly, feeling slightly awkward for some reason. "I'll see you then," she said as she began to walk away. "Oh, and don't forget to bring your study books," she shouted over her shoulder as she disappeared down the hall.

"Sure thing!" he shouted back while waving after her with a huge grin on his face. "I can't believe it!" he said to himself. "She said yes! This is great!" he suddenly came to his senses and shook his head abruptly trying to get rid of the goofy grin that had spread across his face. "What am I talking about? Of course she said yes. Why wouldn't she say yes? I mean it's me and I…" he trailed off. "Wait a minute… We have study books?"

"Oh brother," said a voice behind him. "He's impossible."

Ichiro turned around to face his group of friends, and immediately addressed Koji who had posed the comment. "Hey, some of us make it a point NOT to study."

"Well then you're sure making quite a sacrifice in order to get closer to Karou," Yuri added.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a study session, Ichiro. What did you think you guys were going to do? Eat dinner?"

"At least I got a date with her," Ichiro said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at Yuri. He wasn't about to let the taller boy dampen his mood.

"It's a study session, Ichiro," Miro interjected. "Not a date."

Ichiro grinned at Miro with a confident smirk. "Whatever you say Miro. Although, you must admit, it's a lot closer than any of you could've gotten. But okay. We'll play by your rules, Miro and call it a study session. After all, it's only a matter of time before she caves and agrees to go out on a real date with me," he laughed as he turned and left his friends behind.

They watched as he walked away. Eventually Koji turned to look at Miro who wore an unreadable expression on his face. "He's right, Miro," Koji said. "He's already a lot closer than any of us have ever gotten, and it's only been one day."

"You underestimate Hibiki-san," Miro said, the right side of his mouth upturned in a half grin. "And me."

* * * *

Karou quickly rounded the corner and slouched against the wall, checking to make sure no one was watching her. "Come on," she mumbled while fishing around in her school bag. "Where is it? I know it's in here…" she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and smiled. "Ah-ha! There it is." In her hand she held the note that Ichiro had written her earlier. She carefully unfolded the paper and smoothed out the wrinkles until she could read the sloppy handwriting. There on the piece of paper was one sentence.

_'You have beautiful eyes…'_

"I knew it!" she shouted. A huge grin spread across her face. "He does like me!" She blinked, her eyebrows suddenly knitting together in confusion. "Not that I care or anything… It's just that I… Well I… If I'm going to tutor him I should at least know what his intentions are. That's all." She nodded her head in confirmation of her logic and then looked back at the piece of paper. "My eyes are beautiful?" she smiled slightly. It wasn't exactly what she would expect to hear from a guy that really was a player. Yet at the same time it wasn't the kind of thing she'd expect from someone that was only interested in her teaching either.

"Not planning on asking me out, huh?" she said, with a quiet smile on her face. She put the note in her pocket and began to walk away, swinging her bag back and forth in a playful manner. "We'll see about that… Ichiro…"

* * * *

"What are you writing?" Ichiro asked, peering over Karou's shoulder.

She looked up and immediately jumped in surprise, quickly slamming her notebook shut. "Nothing!" she snapped, pulling the headphones off her head that had distracted her to his presence.

"Oh come on, it's obviously something!"

"I said it's nothing!" she snapped again, quickly putting her notebook away. She let her hair fall in front of her face as she leaned forward, in an attempt to cover her blush, but Ichiro still caught it.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"I didn't think you were coming," she said, ignoring his earlier comment. She looked up at him then but quickly averted her eyes to the side, partially because of her irritation and partially because of a slight lingering embarrassment. "You're late."

"Yeah, well I uh…" Now it was Ichiro's turn to blush. "I had a uh meeting after school…"

"You couldn't find the library could you?" Karou asked, with a disapproving, yet amused grin.

Ichiro sighed in defeat. "Yeah well, I've never really been here before."

"I figured as much."

"But I did bring my study books!" he stated proudly. It had taken him an eternity to find them, but she didn't need to know that much.

She smiled slightly. "Alright. Well, let's get to work then. I need to be home by 4:30," she said as she turned back to the desk.

"What for?" he asked politely while taking the seat next to her.

"To prepare for the dinner crowd. My parents run an okinomiyaki restaurant. And right now my dad's… away, so I need to help out tonight."

"Really? You cook okonomiyaki? That's so cool!"

She smiled slightly despite herself, not even noticing the transition into a smooth conversation. "Aw, I'm not really all that good. But my mom's incredible. She's one of the best okonomiyaki chefs in all of Japan," Karou stated proudly.

"Man, you're lucky. My mom's a horrible cook."

"Hey! That's not a very nice thing to say about your mother!" Karou said jokingly.

"But it's true! I end up in the hospital at least twice a year because she cooks something that's un-edible."

"Now I know you're exaggerating."

"Okay, maybe a little bit. After all, I've only been once this year. You build up an immunity to her cooking after a little while. But she has a horrible temper, so whenever she gets angry at my dad, which is a lot, it effects her cooking… Badly!"

Karou laughed lightly. "That's nothing though. Once when my dad was out of town, my mom got mad at him and decided to add pork to the menu. Then when he got home he ate a bunch of it, not realizing what it was. When he finally figured out what it was he was sick for about a week."

"Why, is your dad allergic to pork or something?"

Karou stopped laughing. "No…" she said, a strange look on her face. "He just really… likes pigs."

At the same time she began to chastise herself in her mind. _'How in the world did I let THAT slip?'_ she wondered. _'I don't even know. We just got to talking and I wasn't… I wasn't thinking I guess. He's just… He's so easy to talk to.' _she admitted to herself. She bit her lip slightly, realizing she wasn't as prepared for tutoring Ichiro as she had initially thought. Tutoring the jerk was one thing, and she knew she could handle that. But getting along with him wasn't something she was prepared for.

"We should get started," she stated abruptly, pulling out her study books and a different notebook.

"Oh, um, okay…"

"Did you do your homework yet?"

"We have homework?"

Karou stopped mid motion and turned to look at him in astonishment. After she realized he wasn't kidding she sighed deeply. "We've got a lot of work to do!"

* * * *

"No, no, no." Karou quickly admonished. It's L, not R. See, there's, la, li , lu, le, lo, and then ra, ri, ru, re, ro… Notice the difference?"

Ichiro blinked at her, completely confused. "No."

Karou only giggled. She was in the middle of trying to explain one of the greatest conundrums to the Japanese English speaker. The difference between an 'R' and an 'L'. "Don't worry about it too much. It's not easy to get. But I'm impressed. Other than that your pronunciation is really good all things considered."

"Yeah, whatever," Ichiro mumbled under his breath. He knew Karou had to be lying. "Why are we wasting time on this anyway?" He whined. "The tests are written, not spoken. Who cares if I can actually speak English?"

"Oh I'm sorry," Karou said sarcastically. "When you asked for an English tutor I didn't realize what you really wanted was a 'How to pass the next English test' tutor."

"You said it yourself, I don't really care about this stuff, and obviously I'm not very good at it. So can't we just work on the stuff that matters?"

Karou sighed and leaned back in her chair. "If you think this is frustrating, try studying all the rules and fundamentals that go with the language for five minutes. I'm sure you'll find this much more enjoyable. Besides, if I can teach you to develop an ear for listening to the language, all of those rules will come to you a lot easier. When you've developed an ear for the correct pronunciation, things that are incorrect just don't sound right. Believe me, I know this is hard now, but it'll be much easier doing it this way in the long run."

"Alright. If you say so," he sighed, still not entirely convinced.

"Anyway," Karou said while putting her books away. "I need to get going. I forgot I need to stop at the store first to pick some things up."

"I'll go with you."

Karou looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"I don't know. Kind of as a way of saying thank you?"

"You want to thank me by helping me shop?"

"Um, sure. Or maybe I could buy you lunch sometime or something."

"No thanks. Like I said, I'm not interested in you."

"Why do you always assume I'm asking you out? I just wanted to do something to thank you for all the help you're giving me. If I were to ask you out I'd ask you to go to dinner or something. Not lunch. There's nothing romantic about lunch. It's just two people sharing the dullest meal of the day."

"And what's so romantic about dinner? Personally I think that's a misconception. Dinner is no more special than any other meal."

"See, there you're wrong. Dinner, is the very last meal of the day. Your last chance at tasting something delicious for the day. When you go to sleep you don't remember how much you enjoyed your lunch, or your afternoon. How you spend your evenings dictates how you feel when you go to sleep. How you feel about the entirety of your day. If you spend your evening with someone special, you go to sleep thinking about that person, and how wonderful it was to just be with her. How much you want to go to sleep feeling that way every night. And how much you want to see her again."

Karou laughed slightly. "I'll admit I never really thought about it that way," she said. Then she mentally kicked herself. Yeah, he was definitely smooth, but she wasn't the type of girl that fell for lines like that so easily.

"So, what do you say? Lunch?"

"Um, I don't know. I'll think about it. My schedule is pretty tight lately."

"Oh."

_'Dangit!' _Ichiro cursed. _'I could've sworn I had it there. So close and yet… Ugh! Okay, but I haven't lost yet. I'm definitely making progress at least. Yesterday she would have simply laughed in my face. Yeah, that's the way to look at it. It's only a matter of time. Next time for sure she'll say yes. And for now…'_

"So um, when can we get together again?" She looked at him strangely. "You know. To study?"

"Oh!" she said, embarrassed that she had been confused by what he meant. "Um, I don't know… Like I said, my schedule's pretty tight right now." It wasn't that she was brushing him off indefinitely. After all, she had agreed to tutor him, and she wasn't about to go back on that promise after one session. But she couldn't afford to look too agreeable and make him think that these meetings were for any purpose other than studying.

"Okay. I understand…"

She bit her lip. His tone clearly displayed that he had not understood. She felt a slight twang of guilt, but her resolve held strong. She didn't want him to know just how hard it was to turn him down. "So then…"

Ichiro immediately cut her off with the first thing that popped into his head. "Thank you." He didn't know what he was doing. He was unsure exactly of what had gone wrong, and therefore had no clue how to fix things. All he knew was that if he didn't say something soon she would be reluctant to meet with him again, and he couldn't have that. "I mean, for… Well, for giving up your time to tutor me today. Sorry if I wasted your time. I don't blame you for not wanting to help me again. You must think I'm a complete idiot."

Karou sighed and stopped to look at him. "You're not an idiot, Ichiro. You're just… Lazy."

"Gee, thanks," he said dryly.

"What you're actually denying it? Honestly, if you start putting some effort into your work from now on there's no reason why you can't ace the next test."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

Karou stared at him slightly concerned. "What? You think I'm just saying that to make you feel better? It's the truth. A little hard work is all anyone ever needs to improve."

"Pheh. That's easy for you to say. You don't know what it's like to… Oh never mind!"

"No, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing…"

"Ichiro! Honestly you're acting like a twelve year old!"

"Yeah well at least I'm not ignorant. You smart people really are something else you know that?" He wasn't angry, just frustrated, and his tone showed that perfectly. "You don't realize how lucky you are. You think we could all be just like you if we'd just put in a little effort. But the truth is that the effort doesn't matter. When you're stupid, you're stupid. There's no changing that!" Ichiro bit his tongue sharply and turned away, wondering where his whole tirade had come from.

"And what makes you think you're stupid?" Karou asked in a flat tone.

"That's just the way it is. My sister's good at school, I'm good at martial arts. Just like my dad. You know he never even finished high school?"

"But you're not your father. And I'm sure your parents want more for you than that."

"My parents don't force me to try for impossible goals. They know I'm not any good at school. That's just the way it is. It can't be helped. Like father like son!"

"The only thing stupid about you is the way you're talking right now. You are Ichiro Saotome. Not Ranma Saotome. You live your life, not his. You don't have to fail school. You don't have to be a martial artist. You're sixteen years old for crying out loud. Stop living up to your parent's expectations of failure and start living up to your own expectations. Don't be who they think you'll be. Be who you are."

"And what would you know about it all?"

"More than you'd think. You say your father never finished high school? Neither of my parents did either. In fact, my father never even started high school. But what difference does that make? Do you think my parents want me to be a teacher? No. They want me to follow in their footsteps and…" she trailed off, realizing just in time where that sentence would lead. She was still unwilling to let him know about that part of her life. "Well, I just don't want that life. I don't care if that other life comes naturally to me. It's not what I want. So even if I have to work harder for the thing I really want, I'm not going to give up. Just because you're talented at something doesn't mean you have to do something that relates to that talent. And just because something is difficult for you, that doesn't mean it's forever out of your reach, and something you shouldn't try for."

Ichiro listened to her speech, annoyed and inspired by her words at the same time. She may have been right, but he wasn't ready to admit that. He preferred to stick to the belief that he was simply not good at school. It was better than the alternative. Was he really as she said? Lazy? No, he wouldn't believe that. Then what? Was it that he was scared of failure? He'd never failed at something he had set his mind to. But what if he listened to Karou and tried harder? What if she was wrong? What if he still didn't improve? Surely that would count as a failure…

And what did he even care? He didn't _want_ to do better in school. He couldn't have cared less. All this talk of stupidity, and failure. Where had all that come from? He didn't care. He didn't! All he cared about was winning the bet. He couldn't fail. He couldn't lose…

Yet he looked down into Karou's determined eyes, the fire of belief reflecting in them. She was confident in the truth of her words. And he found that he himself wanted to believe them, and for a second the thought crossed his mind that if Karou believed in him, he couldn't fail. That revelation brought with it confusion, and a strange fear of the uncertainty. And for those reasons, he found he had no words. So instead he simply nodded his head, and offered her a small smile.

Her grin widened in response. "Good then. We're agreed!" She looked at her watch then. "I'll tell you what. I'll talk to my parents tonight and look over my schedule. If all's well, maybe I can spare a few hours tomorrow..."

* * * *

That night Karou stared at her ceiling, deep in thought. There had never in her life been a person more confusing than Ichiro Saotome. "What face are you going to show me next, Ichiro?" she wondered out loud. She glanced briefly at the desk next to her bed and rolled over onto her side, snatching a crumpled piece of paper off of it. She read the words again, even though they were already burned into her memory. "You have beautiful eyes…" For the hundredth time she asked herself what that was supposed to mean. "Does he like me or not?" From the beginning she had been certain that he liked her, or was at least interested in dating her once or twice, just like all of the other guys were. But the truth was, other than the note and the lunch invitation he had made absolutely no moves on her. And he had protested that the invitation for lunch was not a date, and the explanation of wanting to thank her for the help was rational enough.

And then there was the study session itself. Did he really want her to tutor him, or did he have some other motive? Yesterday she would have insisted that the answer was the later. Ichiro never struck her as the type of person to care about his schooling or give much of a thought towards his grades. She thought he was simply indifferent. However, after his outburst at the end of the session, she was really confused. What exactly was all that supposed to mean? It didn't sound like the words of a student that didn't care about his performance. It sounded more like the words of person that was afraid to admit just how much he cared.

And then, as was inevitable, another thought entered her head. Why in the world did she stay awake wondering about all of this? She was his tutor. Nothing more. She was supposed to help him, that much was obvious, but tutoring a person didn't mean she had to stay up contemplating his intentions. With that thought, she crumpled up the scrap of paper once more, and threw it across the room towards the trash can. The small paper hit the rim of the can and bounced off to the side, landing on the floor and rolling away slightly. Karou stared at it strangely. It was rare for her to miss like that. Then she yawned deeply and closed her eyes, forgetting all of her thoughts as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * * *

Ichiro played his guitar distractedly. Every once in a while he would come to his senses, realizing he had been doing nothing but staring at the wall for uncountable minutes. His eyes drifted unguided to the pile of books on top of his rarely used desk. After a moment of contemplation he forcefully looked away and went back to his playing. Yet nothing was coming out right and he soon gave up and put the instrument away.

"It must be getting late, anyway," he thought to himself. When he had eventually returned home, his father had scolded him for being late, and then proceeded to instruct him through a practice that was more rigorous than normal as a punishment. It wasn't until it had gotten dark and his mother had called them in for dinner that they stopped. Not that Ichiro really cared. He enjoyed working at something he knew he was good at. And the more he practiced, the closer he got to his father's level. That's what drove him on a daily basis.

Besides, it was easier to take the training than confide in his parents about his whereabouts. For reasons he couldn't fully understand, he didn't want them to know about the study sessions. Was it because he was afraid of disappointing them? He shook his head. As if they would be. As expected, his parents had hardly paid any notice to his last test score. It was simply what they had expected, nothing more. In their minds he was destined to be a martial artist, nothing else.

He paused in his thoughts, trying to keep them from turning to Karou, and then sighed in defeat as they inevitably did. What stood out in his mind was the look in her eyes as she had spoken to him passionately as she encouraged him to do as she did and make his own choices in life. Karou was a pain, but somehow it was nice to have someone believe in him. He didn't want that to go away.

Ichiro looked at the books again and sighed. It wasn't that he wanted to study, but… As he stood up and made his way for the desk, he realized something. He didn't want to disappoint her.

* * * *

"Let's see," Karou mused, while walking down the school's hallway, scribbling down calculations in her planner. "If I add up my earnings for the rest of the month… Carry the two… Plus all my savings…" She hopefully added up the calculations and let out a sigh of disappointment. "It's no use. It's still no where near enough. Unless… Maybe I can cut out some of my costs here, and then…"

Suddenly, an arm snaked out from the door beside her and yanked her inside. It was in a state of complete shock that Karou found herself in the girl's bathroom standing in front of four girls that looked none to friendly. "Hey!" Karou whined. "What's the meaning of this? You made me lose count," she said while looking down at her planner.

"Lose count of what?" asked the girl closest to her. "What is it you're writing in there anyway?" she asked in a condescending tone as she snatched the book from Karou's grasp.

"Hey! Give that back!" Karou growled.

The girl, who Karou recognized as one of her classmates, ignored her protests and began scanning the contents of the book.

"What is it, Keiko?" asked another one of the girls, slightly taller.

"Pheh," Keiko answered. "How boring. It's just her planner," she finished while tossing the book carelessly over her shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing?" Karou yelled in annoyance, going over to pick up her book. "That's mine!"

Before she could reach the book a third girl, the largest of the four, moved in front of her, blocking her way. Karou looked up at the rough, stern face of the girl staring down at her. _'What's the deal?'_ Karou wondered. _'Am I supposed to be scared or something? Ha. If that's what they're aiming for, I'm afraid they're in for a disappointment.'_

"You'll get your precious book back," said the fourth girl, leaning up against the wall in the corner. "Once we're finished talking to you that is!"

Karou turned and looked at the girl. She was obviously the one in charge. Karou laughed at her comment. "You want to talk? Tell me, do you always go about initiating conversations in this matter? Because I'm curious, do you make a lot of friends that way? I'm not sure if you're aware of this but it's a little… I don't know, hostile seeming?"

"Quit fooling around. You know why we pulled you in here."

"I do?" Karou asked.

"Don't play dumb. We know you've been making moves on Ichiro Saotome. Keiko saw you two together in the library yesterday."

Karou raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, so what? We were studying."

"You don't fool us. You've never tutored anyone else. Why else would you start working with Ichiro unless you wanted something from him?"

Karou sighed. She wasn't in the mood for such silly games. Not that she ever would be. "Ichiro's the only person that's ever asked me. That's all. Besides, I thought tutoring him would provide a good challenge. Believe me, I couldn't care less about that arrogant, lazy guy."

The tall, beefy girl suddenly slammed her fist into her palm, drawing Karou's attention. "You will not talk about Ichiro-san in that way!" she shouted.

Karou rolled her eyes, not the slightest bit impressed. "Oh please. Look, I'll spare you guys the trouble. I know what this is all about. You're worried I'm going to try and take Ichiro away from you or something, right? Well don't worry. I have no interest in Ichiro. Now if you'll excuse me…" She moved towards her book again but was intercepted once more. She sighed. It wasn't that she'd expected it would be that easy, but still, she had hoped.

"That's not good enough," yelled the apparent leader. "Why should we trust you? You've already seduced all the other guys in our class. Of course you would go after Ichiro as well. After all, he is the most popular, handsome guy in the whole school. But he's too innocent and naïve to see through the likes of you. So we're here to protect him from you!"

Karou began to laugh. "Ichiro, innocent? Naïve? Ha! Now that's probably the funniest thing I've heard all week!"

"Hey! You will not mock our beloved Ichiro-san. I should warn you, Aiko here is on the volleyball team, and thoroughly trained in martial arts."

Karou looked back at the muscular girl, who was cracking her knuckles while glaring down at Karou. Karou simply smirked, adapting a more somber tone. "So now you're threatening me, hmm?"

"No, we're giving you a choice."

"Ooh? And what choice is that?"

"Stay away from Ichiro… Or else!"

Karou stood up straight and threw her book bag against the wall casually. There was a strange glint in her eyes as she leveled all four girls with an eerie grin. "I was hoping you'd say that."

* * * *

"Hey! No running in the hallway!"

Ichiro simply ignored the older teacher as he sped past. "Where is that stupid girl?" he pondered out loud. "Like I don't have anything better to do on my lunch hour than to search for her or something," he growled.

Just then, a loud crashing sound came from the girl's restroom and Ichiro slid to a stop, looking back in that direction. "What the…?"

His thoughts were interrupted by an even louder crashing sound. "What in the world is going on in there?" he asked as he started walking back towards the room. However, just then, Karou exited the restroom and started walking down the hall.

"Aaah," she moaned. "Honestly. How childish. I've read about girls acting like that in manga, but I didn't think anyone would really behave like that. And over a stupid boy nonetheless. Well, it goes to show though, maybe I've been a little unfair in my judgment of him. After all, it must be annoying to have such persistent girls after him…"

"Hey! Karou!"

"Huh?" Karou turned around to see Ichiro racing towards her. "Oh, Ichiro, hello," she said as she stopped and waited for him to catch up to her.

"Are you okay? I heard that crash and…"

"Crash?" Karou asked tilting her head sideways, giving him a curious look. "I didn't hear anything."

"But… I heard… From the restroom, and… Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"Don't worry. I'm fine. Nothing happened. Probably a trash can just fell over or something," she responded, with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Huh? But…"

"Shall we go?" Karou asked smiling sweetly.

"Um… Sure… Wait. Where are we going?" he asked as he fell into step behind her, glancing back towards the restroom, still in a confused state.

"You owe me a lunch, remember?"

"Well, yeah but I mean now? That's not really what I meant…"

"Well I can't very well have you taking me out somewhere for lunch. Too much like a date. Besides, I overslept this morning and didn't have time to make myself anything, so this works out perfectly, right?"  
"You overslept? How unlike you."

She glanced at him sideways. "Is it now? Honestly, you've only known me for a day. A little soon for you to be making assumptions about my character, don't you think?"

"Not really. You're a top student. Top students don't do things like that."

"Well look who knows everything all of a sudden," she teased. "Being smart doesn't automatically make you a goody-two-shoes, you know. It's nice that everyone assumes that though," she laughed. "Makes things easier on me. The better you do in school, the more you get away with. No one ever suspects me of anything."

"Must be nice," Ichiro mumbled.

"Something wrong Ichiro? You seem a little distracted."

"Huh? Oh, no it's just... I could've sworn I heard something in there!"

"Oh honestly Ichiro. I'm starting to think you're prone to paranoia or something. Some martial artist you're going to turn out to be!"

"Hey I..."

His words died on his lips as they rounded the corner and were met with an unbelievably large line at the food stand. "Whoa!" he breathed.

"Tell me about it," Karou sighed. "We'll never get anything at this rate."

Ichiro grinned maliciously and stepped in front of her cracking his knuckles menacingly as he made his way towards the crowd. "No need to worry. I'll just persuade some people to move and then..."

"No!" Karou said abruptly. "I've got a better idea!"

"What do you mean you have a better idea? Does your idea involve beating up half of the student body?"

"No..."

"Then how can it be better?"

Karou rolled her eyes and held out her hand. "Just give me the money. Trust me on this, okay?"

He looked at her wearily as he reached into his pocket and pulled out several coins. "But you're spoiling my fun." he whined.

She laughed. "Next time, okay? My way's faster and I'm really hungry."

"Your way's faster? I think you underestimate me."

Karou rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, what do you want?"

Ichrio sighed, giving up all hopes for his moment of entertainment. "I guess I'll have the udon."

"Okay! Coming right up."

She dashed into the crowd, immediately disappearing. Ichiro searched with his eyes, trying to figure out where she had gone. Eventually she reappeared near the door to the kitchen, now holding two trays stacked on top of each other. He watched in surprise as she disappeared again through the door.

"What the...? What's she going in there for? She's going to get herself in trouble!" His fears were set aside a few minutes later when she reappeared by his side carrying two bowls of udon on top of the stacked trays.

"Okay here we are," she quipped causing Ichiro to jump.

"Jeez, where'd you come from?"

"The kitchen, obviously."

"Well yeah but I didn't see you leave."

"Must've lost sight of me," she shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, here you go."

She rotated the top tray and balanced it on the bottom one, leaving just enough space to slide one of the bowls of udon onto the second tray. She did this with much ease, and then handed Ichiro the bottom tray.

Ichiro watched the whole exchange approvingly but said nothing. After all, she did work at a restaurant. Of course she would be good at such things. Still, the agility she had with her hands was quite impressive. She wasn't klutzy like his sister or mother.

"Oh, by the way, here's your money back," she said handing him the full allotment of change.

"Huh? Why?"

"The lunch lady works part-time at our restaurant. I just went back to say hi and grab some food and she gave it to us free of charge."

"Oh. Wow. That's useful. I'll admit your way of getting food was a lot less complicated than what I had in mind."

"Not as fun though," they both said at the same time. They blinked at each other in surprise and then began to laugh lightly.

Ichiro stopped abruptly realizing his laughter had been genuine. He looked at her confused.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing… It's just, you're not really what I expected you to be like."

""I think I'll take that as a compliment," Karou responded and then smiled. "After all, you're not really what I expected either," she admitted. Her smile faltered a bit then and she seemed to grow distracted, her eyes darting briefly to the side. "Anyway, I should go," she said rather abruptly.

"Huh? Why? I thought we were going to eat lunch together?"

She regarded him then with her typical sly grin and teasing manner that he had started to become familiar with. "I said you could buy me lunch. I never said I'd eat with you."

"Why are you always doing that?" he asked, his demeanor changing abruptly. "I mean I'm trying to be nice to you and get to know you better but you just keep shooting me down. It's not like I'm asking you to date me or anything. I just wanted to spend time with you."

Karou sighed, dropping her playful demeanor. "It's not that I'm totally opposed to the idea of eating with you, but..." It was at this point that he noticed how her eyes were scanning the room in a calculated manner. "I don't really care to be seen with you," she finished, half distractedly.

"Gee thanks."

"No. That's not what I mean," she said shaking her head and focusing her attention back on him. "It's different for you because everyone respects you. If it was someone else that was spending time with me it would be just as bad for you though."

"I don't follow you."

Karou sighed. "You really are dense aren't you? Okay, I'll explain it to you then. Just don't... Well, just don't feel too proud about what I'm about to say."

"Huh?"

"Practically every girl in the school has a crush on you, right?"

Ichiro shrugged, feigning modesty. "I wouldn't know about something like that."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Karou said, rolling her eyes before continuing. "Anyway, practically every girl likes you and I was never that well liked by the female population to begin with. If you start paying special attention to me, the girls are bound to start hating me. And who knows what they'll do then."

"Oh come on!" he laughed. "Now look who's being paranoid."

"Am I? Look at Kimiko."

"Kimiko? Who's that?"

"Kimiko! From our class! The girl that asked you out just last week?"

"I don't remember anything like that."

"Oh honestly!" she said throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I can't believe how careless you are about such things. It's disgusting. And I most certainly can't understand why a girl would be so crazy over a guy that can't even remember her name!"

"And I can't understand why you keep such good track of what other girls ask me out," he pointed out with a triumphant smirk.

Karou glared at him, but didn't take the bait. Her look seemed to indicate that the comment wasn't worth her time or attention. "Anyway, Kimiko's the tall short haired girl to your right. Across the room at the back table."

Ichiro slowly inclined his head to the direction she was indicating. For a brief moment, there was a look of annoyance on the girl's face as she stared in Karou and Ichiro's direction, but as soon as Ichiro looked at her she darted her eyes back towards the conversation she was having with her friends. Curiously Ichiro began to look around the room. From many of the girls he would catch fleeting glances, glares cast in Karou's general direction. There were too many to ignore. Clearly Karou's concerns were at least slightly well founded.

"See what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess. I never really noticed anything like that before."

"Like I said. You're oblivious. It's sickening really."

"Do you really hate me that much because of something like this?"

She sighed heavily. "No, I just hate the whole situation. It's so ridiculous and immature. And it makes me mad at times that you're just in your own little world, not even the slightest bit aware of all the conflict you cause simply by... Being you."

"Somehow it sounds a lot worse when you say it that way."

"Yeah well, sorry," she shrugged. "Just telling it as it is. Anyway, I should go..."

"Karou, I don't like that things are like this. If there was anything I could do..."

"You mean it?" Karou asked abruptly, her eyes shinning in excitement.

"Well, yeah, of course I do! I don't want anyone to give you a hard time just because you're helping me out."

"You're sure you're okay with this? I mean you'd do anything to make this better for me?"

"Um. Yeah, sure. I guess." Despite his words, he couldn't deny that there was a feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.

Karou broke out into a malicious grin. "Good!" Ichiro couldn't help but notice she seemed a little too excited about whatever she was about to do and that fact sent shivers down his spine. "Now I apologize in advance, but this may hurt a bit. Then again you are a martial artist, so I suppose you can take it."

"Huh? Karou what are you…"

"You jerk!" she screamed cutting him off completely. He only had a moment to be stunned before she slapped him hard across the face sending him into an even deeper shock.

He stood there in complete confusion and surprise holding his cheek. "Karou, what…"

"Don't even bother trying to explain yourself, Ichiro! You were just using me weren't you? You don't care about me at all! You were just pretending to like me so that I'd help you with your homework, weren't you?"

"What? No! I…" It was then he noticed a different look in Karou's eyes, as if she were trying to communicate something to him. He then looked around and noticed that everyone was obviously staring at them. Finally he caught on to what Karou was up to. "I mean…" he stammered slightly before making a decision and shrugged. "What did you expect?" he stated lamely. It was the best he could think of.

Karou shook her head in disgust. "You liar. I can't believe I… I…" she sniffed dramatically and buried her face in her hand. Then she looked at him again boldly. "I can't believe I let you lie to me like that. I can't believe I believed you!" With that she spun around abruptly and ran out the door.

Ichiro stared after her for a moment still in a state of shock. _'What was that all about?' _he wondered. He then noticed once again that all eyes were still on him and turning out of his thoughts he addressed everyone with a shrug. "What? I mean what do you expect? She's psycho!" There were a few chuckles, and everyone went back to their own business, and Ichiro breathed a silent sigh of relief. He then drew his attention to a slip of paper on his tray and picked it up to read, just as his friends approached him.

"Well what happened there?" Koji asked as he approached, scratching his head in bewilderment.

"Yeah what did you do to get her that ticked off?" Miro added, as he crossed his arms over his chest. He sounded more bored than anything else, clearly doubting the whole performance.

"I guess this means you've lost the bet, huh?" Yuri asked sympathetically, placing a hand on Ichiro's shoulder.

"Nope," Ichiro said, casually tossing them the slip of paper he held.

Yuri was the one to catch it and read it out loud. "'Meet me after school in the library,'" he read. "Huh? I don't get it?"

"It was just an act. Throw people off and all. Believe me. The game's far from over," Ichiro said with a large grin.

* * * *

Author Notes:

Not a whole lot to say on this except I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated! I've just recently gotten back into writing after a long hiatus and have decided to through and finish up all my old stories that have just been sitting on my computer for ages. My next chapter for this is pretty much finished anyway so it will probably be out before too long. And if this is your first time reading this story and you read it all at once, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know your thoughts. Also if you like my writing, try some of my other stories (Missing You in particular) since they focus more on the original cast and are probably more fulfilling for a lot of readers. ;-) Plus with an exception of Love Vanished Once, Regrettably they're all complete!

**Coming Up:** Chapter 7: Minami's Tale - Ichiro and Karou's Story Part 2. This chapter will just be the conclusion of the flashback, plus a fast-forward to the current timeline of the story. Find out how they fall in and out of love! Plus you get to meet Karou's mom! Who you already know if you've actually watched Ranma of course...


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